Fate's Downfall
by EllsKay
Summary: AU where the two 'black sheep' of the HP and the PJO universes unite to save both Olympus and the wizarding world. Luke goes to Hogwarts on a quest. He's supposed to find a child of the Big Three and help him realize his destiny. Will he help Draco Malfoy become the hero he's meant to be, or will he ignore the Fates and claim the Great Prophecy as his own?
1. The thief and the snitch

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Chapter 1: The thief and the snitch

 _Click_.

Draco jolted a little at the sound. His dog, Morty, gave a startled jump as well. He looked at Crabbe and Goyle sitting opposite him at their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, but they didn't seem to have heard anything. It must have been his imagination. After all, it wasn't possible that he could hear scissors clicking from outside the train…

He looked again towards the three old ladies that had been sitting on a bench outside, knitting a huge sock. They weren't there anymore.

As far as he could see, they weren't anywhere on the platform. Draco blinked.

 _Great. First day at school and I have hallucinations._

Quickly, he cast that thought aside. He had other things to worry about. He caught sight of the strange boy he met at Madam Malkin's walking on the platform, looking a bit dazed. Draco frowned. The boy had claimed both his parents were wizards, yet the complete ignorance of the magical world he had demonstrated during their brief discussion and the way he was looking around at the moment, both pointed towards Muggle-born.

Not that it mattered. He wouldn't want to be friends with him anyway. That boy gave him the creeps. He could feel there was something very wrong with him – something _unnatural_. He had no idea what it was, but he still wanted to be as far away from the boy as possible.

So now he was stuck with the boys his father had ordered him to befriend, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, or, as he referred to them in his mind, Dumb and Dumber.

He glanced at the two huge boys sitting opposite him with contempt. His only hope was that his other fellow Slytherins would prove to be more interesting company than this pair of morons.

Suddenly, the door of their compartment slid aside a little and a blond-haired head popped in.

Draco frowned as the boy's eyes wandered around the compartment. When they locked on Draco's, his face broke into a grin. Ignoring Draco's scowl, the boy opened the compartment door completely and slid inside, pulling his trunk behind him.

"I don't recall giving you permission to join our compartment," said Draco, looking annoyed, as the boy heaved his trunk with a grunt and placed it on the luggage rack without help.

"I don't recall asking for a permission," said the boy with a smirk as he sat down next to Draco. His accent sounded American.

Draco instinctively met Crabbe and Goyle's eyes, only to be faced with even more confusion than his own. It figured.

He turned his gaze back to the intruder who was now sitting leisurely beside him. He was probably a first year like them. He was a little taller than Draco and more athletic-looking. He had sand-colored hair and tanned skin. He was dressed in Muggle clothes – an orange T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a weird leather necklace with five multi-colored clay beads.

The boy suddenly jumped a little on his seat, as he heard Morty growling – a low, cold sound that made your blood turn to ice in your veins. Even Crabbe and Goyle paled.

"Hush, boy," said Draco softly.

Morty gave a lower growl. _I don't like half-bloods_ , Draco heard his voice in his mind. _Except for you, of course._

 _What are you- Never mind. Just remember what I told you. Don't eat anyone unless I give you permission to._

 _Yes, boss._

The strange boy gazed at the big black dog that was curled up by Draco's feet with awe.

"You have a baby hellhound as a pet?"

Draco's scowl got deeper. "Don't talk about Morty like that."

The boy arched an eyebrow. "Still, I don't recall dogs being on the list of acceptable pets. Even ones that don't come straight from hell."

Draco glared at him. "My mother wrote to a Hogwarts professor who's a family friend and he got me permission from the Headmaster."

"Why? Are owls too _banal_ for you?"

"Owls don't like me… As well as most other animals."

The boy chuckled. "I bet they don't."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What about you? How come you didn't bring a pet?"

"Oh, stealing living things is kind of hard."

Draco couldn't figure out if the boy was joking or not.

Then the boy flashed Draco a friendly smile. "I'm Luke Castellan, by the way."

"Draco Malfoy," he said curtly, without adding a "Nice to meet you".

"And your friends?"

"Crabbe and Goyle," said Draco in the same manner, still scowling at the boy. "Castellan, you said? Are you related to May Castellan?"

Luke's smile faltered only slightly. "Yes, she's my mother. You have heard of her?"

"She is a very well-known Seer."

The boy's smile faltered a little more. "Right."

"And your father?"

"You wouldn't know him," said Luke simply.

"He's not a wizard?"

"Not exactly."

Draco pursed his lips. A half-blood. Could have been worse.

"What happened to your mother, anyway?" he asked Luke, not very discreetly. "Nobody's heard from her since the end of the war."

Luke flinched visibly. "She- Well, she made a bad decision and now she-" He swallowed hard. "She's kind of lost her mind."

Draco's frustration towards the boy dissipated. "Is she in St. Mungo's?"

"No, they… They can't really help her there. She's staying with my grandmother in America. She takes care of her."

"And you're staying with her?"

"I used to, but…" He swallowed again. "Well, my grandma decided it wasn't a suitable environment for a little boy, so five years ago she sent me to a camp. I stay there most of the time."

"What kind of camp?"

Luke seemed a little nervous. "It's like a summer camp, except some of us who can't or don't want to go stay with their families can stay there year-round."

Draco looked at the boy. He might be annoying, but he couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. He tried to imagine what he would do if something like that ever happened to his mother. He shuddered.

As the train started moving, Luke shook his head, as if to clear his head, and forced another friendly smile. "Enough about my sad story. Tell me about your family."

"You haven't heard of my family?" asked Draco, indignant.

"Of course," said Luke with a sly grin. "I've heard all about the Malfoys. I was just hoping you would share something that is not known by the whole wizarding world. You know, _the dirty secrets_."

"Not likely."

"You're not fun at all, Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes.

 _Want me to eat him?_ asked Morty.

He glared at the dog. _Not yet._

"You can talk to him? asked Luke casually.

Draco looked at him, stunned. How on earth could he know that?

"Where did you get him, anyway?" said Luke then.

"My mother got him for me before I came here," said Draco, still a little dazed.

But then something else caught his attention. He could hear loud voices outside the compartment. He slid the door open and took a look. There were two red-haired twins – Weasleys, no doubt – surrounded by a number of other students who were bombarding them with questions.

"What's going on?" he asked a second-year girl.

"They're saying Harry Potter is in that compartment!" she said pointing at a compartment a little further away.

Draco blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"That's what they said."

He bit his lip as he thought. His father would definitely want him to approach Harry Potter, if only to make sure he wasn't the next Dark Lord. If he heard that the Boy-Who-Lived was a few compartments away and he didn't grasp at the chance to meet him… Draco shuddered.

Luke, who had also come out at the corridor, took him out of his reverie. "Harry Potter, huh? Want to go see him?"

He nodded.

They didn't bother to take Crabbe and Goyle with them. Draco reckoned those idiots wouldn't make a very good impression on the Boy-Who-Lived. They went straight to the compartment the girl had pointed at.

When they finally opened the door, they saw two boys in there. One was obviously a Weasley. The other…

"You?" said Draco, looking at the black-haired boy he met at Madam Malkin's shop. "You're Harry Potter?"

"Yes," said the boy.

Draco suppressed the weird feeling in his gut that told him to turn around and run.

"Really?" said Luke and his eyes sparked with interest. "You're the one that defeated Voldemort?"

Everyone, except for Harry Potter, looked at Luke with round eyes. The boy sighed dramatically. "Yeah, yeah, I said Voldemort. I _refuse_ to be afraid of a name. Now can everyone's attention go back to the boy who has defeated the guy everyone's so afraid of that they can't even say his name?"

All eyes turned back to Harry Potter, who looked uncomfortable.

 _Nope, definitely not a Dark Lord_ , thought Draco.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. A snicker came from the red-haired boy. "What are you laughing at, _Weasel_?" he snapped at him. Really, how was it his fault that his mother's family had this stupid tradition of naming their children after constellations?

Luke smothered a laugh.

"It's Weasley!" protested the red-head.

"Same thing," sneered Draco. Then he turned to Potter. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter."

"Well, at least I don't have a Death Eater as a father!" said Weasley as his ears and neck turned bright red.

"Oh! Things are heating up," commented Luke, enjoying the show.

Draco's face flashed with anger. "Do you have proof for your claims, Weasel? It's dangerous to accuse people without evidence to back you."

"Are you threatening me?"

He snorted. "I don't need to. With that mouth of yours, you'll manage to get in trouble without my help."

Suddenly, the door slid open again.

"Excuse me, have you seen a-"

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. She was also a first year with bushy brown hair and big front teeth like a chipmunk's. Hidden behind her was a sniffling chubby boy.

The girl looked at all of them with narrowed eyes. "Have you been fighting?"

"And what if we have?" snapped Draco, who was already riled up by Weasley.

The girl stood her ground. "It's against the rules."

"That's what rules are for, sweetheart," said Luke with a casual smile. "To be broken."

"I doubt that."

"Is there a point to this debate about the importance of rules?" asked Draco impatiently.

"I'm going to tell a professor," announced the girl. The round-faced boy behind her whimpered and took off, obviously afraid to get caught in the crossfire.

"You snitch!" exclaimed Weasley.

"Don't do it!" said Potter.

"You wouldn't," sneered Draco.

The girl lifted her chin defiantly. "Watch me," she said and turned to leave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Luke and grabbed her wrist to stop her. She tried to yank her arm free and Luke let go of her. He raised his hands apologetically. "I think we got off on the wrong foot here, sweetheart," he said and flashed a friendly smile. The girl looked unimpressed. "I'm Luke Castellan. My friend here is Draco Malfoy."

He paused, probably expecting the girl to introduce herself as well, but she just looked at him with her arms folded at her chest, obviously waiting to see where he was going with this. Luke sighed. "Alright. Here's an idea. Why don't you join us in our compartment and we can have a friendly chat there?"

Draco opened his mouth to protest but Luke shot him a warning look and he closed it again.

The girl continued to eye him suspiciously. Luke's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I mean, if we went to our compartment and talked, we wouldn't be here fighting and breaking the rules, would we?"

The girl pursed her lips. Draco could see the battle inside her brain. On one hand, there was the suspicion that this could be a trap. On the other hand, there was curiosity. Luke had managed to intrigue her.

"Fine," she said and Luke's grin widened.

Draco shook his head in disbelief. How on earth did Luke manage to get her not only to change her decision about ratting them out to a professor, but also to join them for a friendly chat? At that moment, Draco realized Luke would definitely be in Slytherin with him. He was a natural.

The three of them left Potter's and Weasley's compartment and walked towards theirs, while Draco and the girl exchanged hostile looks.

When they opened the door, Crabbe and Goyle looked up with confused looks. It made sense. They went to befriend Harry Potter and they came back with a bossy and quite frustrated girl.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Draco made the introductions grudgingly as he sat next to them. Luke and the girl sat down opposite them. Morty promptly approached him and started licking his hands, like he had sorely missed him the few minutes he'd left the compartment.

The girl barely acknowledged the two huge boys. She cast a small nervous glance at the dog before she turned her attention to Luke.

"You said your name is Castellan? Like May Castellan, the Seer?"

Luke flinched again, as he always did when his mother was brought up. "Yes, she's my mother."

"Really?" she said with interest. "I read about her in the _Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_. Wasn't she the one who informed the Aurors of an upcoming Death-Eater attack on Muggles and saved lots of lives?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Have _you_ inherited her sight?"

Luke snorted. "Thank the gods, no."

Draco was a little taken aback by that. "Why? It's a useful skill."

"Not really. Trust me, most of the time, it creates more problems than it solves."

The girl frowned. "I agree," she said, earning a surprised look from Luke. "I think Divination seems very woolly. A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

Luke grinned broadly. "I like you already."

The girl blushed.

"So, are you going to tell us your name, now?" asked Luke.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

"Granger?" repeated Draco. "It doesn't ring a bell."

"It wouldn't. They're Muggles."

 _Of course they are_ , Draco rolled his eyes. He was sitting with a half-blood and a Muggle-born. Father would be so proud.

 _Want me to eat her?_ asked Morty, amused.

 _Stop asking me that!_ But then he added: _Maybe later._

"What do your parents do for a living?" Luke asked the girl.

"They're dentists."

"What?" asked Draco.

"They are like healers who fix teeth," explained Luke.

Draco looked at him like he had just spoken in a foreign language. "Muggles have people who work with _teeth_? Teeth can be fixed with magic in seconds!" Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

"It's not their fault they don't have magic to do it that quickly!" said the girl, frustrated.

"I agree. It's not their fault they're useless. They were born inferior."

Granger's eyes sparked angrily. "They're not useless! Maybe wizards have it easier, but Muggles get it done eventually, as well! And they don't need magic to do it. They use their brains! And they have even managed to do things with their intelligence that wizards haven't!"

"Like what?"

"Have any wizards been to the moon?"

Draco's eyes widened for a second, but then he shook his head. "You're making this up. There's no way Muggles have been to the moon!"

"Actually, they have," said Luke.

Draco looked at them both dumbstruck, waiting for one of them to burst out laughing. None of them did.

The door opened, saving Draco from answering. It was the food cart.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Luke and started picking candy from the cart. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle followed his example, but Granger didn't move.

"Aren't you going to get anything?" Luke asked her.

"Candy is bad for your teeth."

Draco scoffed. "I told you, in the wizarding world teeth can be fixed with a wave of your wand."

Granger looked conflicted, but in the end she bought a few sweets as well.

The three of them had a little fun with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Even Granger laughed out loud when Luke started retching after tasting a vomit-flavored one.

After the Beans, they moved on to the Chocolate Frogs.

"I didn't see you pay for any Chocolate Frogs," said the girl, looking at Luke with narrowed eyes as he was opening one.

"Are you sure?" said Luke innocently. "I'm quite certain I did."

Draco suddenly realized the boy hadn't been joking when he had talked about stealing before.

 _A half-blood_ and _a thief. Great._

Luke took the card of one and passed it to Draco. "What does it say?"

He frowned. "You can't read?"

"I'm dyslexic." It was Luke's turn to frown. "You're not?"

"No," said Draco, startled.

"What about ADHD?"

"What on earth is that?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Do you have trouble concentrating? Or do you find it really hard to stand still for more than a few minutes?"

Draco shook his head.

"Huh," said Luke. "That's rare, but it happens."

Draco didn't know how to respond to that, so he proceeded to read the card for him. "It's just Dumbledore," he said with contempt.

" _Just_ Dumbledore?" gasped Granger. "I have read he's one of the greatest wizards of modern times!"

"Well, I suppose he used to be pretty powerful, but now they say he's gone nuts." Crabbe and Goyle laughed at that. Apparently, that was all their limited brain cells could manage.

"Maybe he's just a little eccentric!"

"Well, whatever the case, it's going to be really fun at Hogwarts," Luke stepped in before another fight broke out.

Draco and Granger glared at each other before continuing eating their candy.

By the time their stomachs were full, it was dark outside and the train had started slowing down. Granger stood from her seat.

"I should go get changed, we'll be there soon."

When she was gone, Draco glared at Luke.

"What?" said the blond boy. "Having a law-abiding citizen on your side always works in your favor. People feel less inclined to punish you."

Draco rolled his eyes. Luke was definitely a Slytherin through and through.

The four boys had just changed into their school robes when the train came to a stop.

Draco was suddenly very nervous. He looked at Luke, as if to draw comfort from him, and saw that the blond boy looked very excited.

"Come on," Luke said with a broad smile. "It's time for our adventure to begin."

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A/N:

I think I should tell you at this point what's different in this AU.

First of all, Draco and Luke are wizards _and_ half-bloods.

Also, their background is different, which is why their characters may differ from canon. For example, as it was made clear in this chapter, Luke is _not_ the bitter and sulky guy that we met in Percy Jackson. This Luke hasn't stayed with his insane mother until he was fourteen or something, and he didn't lose a friend to an army of monsters sent by Hades. And, also, he was assigned a quest pretty early - and an important one, too. Therefore, he doesn't hate his father and the other gods so much.

However, as you will see in the next chapter, he's not completely different from canon-Luke.

As for Draco, he's also a bit different here. Even though Lucius Malfoy had never been the most loving and affectionate father in canon, he'd never been abusive (at least that's my interpretation) and he actually cared about his son, which is why Draco was so loyal to him and his beliefs. That's not the case here. This change in their relationship will impact on Draco's character.

Concerning the other character's from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, most of them will be pretty much the same.

Unfortunately, Percy, Annabeth and Grover won't be making an appearance here. I just can't fit them in the story the way I have with Harry Potter's Golden Trio. But we will be seeing other characters from the PJO universe.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I will update soon.

Don't forget to review!


	2. Ambition

Chapter 2: Ambition

Luke could hardly contain his excitement as he and his fellow first years waited in the small room where Professor McGonagall told them to stay until the Sorting Ceremony started. The rest of the students looked pale and jittery, even Draco. Hermione Granger was currently recounting all the spells she had read about, wondering nervously if they'd be enough for the _'_ test'. Luke, on the other hand, was absolutely thrilled. Not even talk about having to wrestle a troll in order to be sorted fazed him. If anything, it made him anticipate the ceremony even more.

This was exactly what he had been dreaming of. The place was practically buzzing with magic and secrets, waiting to be unlocked by him.

Of course, Camp Half-Blood had also been awesome, but it just didn't hold any surprises for him anymore. But Hogwarts… Hogwarts was a new and exciting experience and Luke was determined to make the most of it.

He glanced towards Draco. He had to admit, the black-haired boy didn't look very heroic. To be frank, Luke thought he was kind of a jerk. But he was prepared to give him a second chance to impress him. If he really was the child the Great Prophecy talked about...

Some gasps and screams attracted his attention and he turned to see what this was all about. He almost started jumping up and down with glee when he saw the two pearly white figures gliding inside the room and talking amongst themselves about someone named Peeves. Luke noticed that Draco also looked fascinated rather than terrified of the slightly transparent figures. Morty, who had followed his master across the lake – for the simple reason that no one dared keeping the scary dog away from his master – looked excited as well, as he started wiggling his tail.

Suddenly the two ghosts noticed the surprised and nervous first years in the room. Their attention quickly shifted to Draco. The ghosts suddenly bowed deeply to the fascinated and puzzled boy.

"Ghost King!" exclaimed the fat one.

"What an honor to meet you!" said the other one.

Everybody was looking at the black-haired boy with confusion. Draco looked a bit bewildered as well, but smiled at the two floating figures, looking very pleased with his welcome. Luke grinned as well.

 _At least now I know I didn't approach the wrong person_ , he thought. _Though the hellhound should have been an adequate sign._

Before Draco could say anything to the ghosts, McGonagall returned and led them to the Great Hall.

Luke gasped. The hall was huge. There were five long tables inside, four for the students and one for the staff, and they were all laid with gold plates. The hall was lit with floating candles. But the most extraordinary thing about the place was the ceiling.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," Hermione whispered to him. "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

"This is awesome," he said in a quiet voice.

McGonagall placed a stool and an ancient ragged hat in front of the assembled first years. Luke wasn't all that surprised when the hat started singing.

After it introduced itself as the Sorting Hat of Hogwarts and then recounted the virtues each house valued most, the Sorting Ceremony started with McGonagall calling out the first name on her list.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

After a moment, the hat sorted her in Hufflepuff.

As the students whose last name started with B followed Hannah Abbott, Luke started wondering where he would be sorted. The obvious answer was Gryffindor. But Draco had been certain he would be sorted in Slytherin like his parents and Luke had to make sure they were in the same house so that he could keep an eye on him.

But then again, Draco didn't look very confident at the moment. He was even paler than before and his body was very stiff, like he was trying not to start shaking. Morty was nuzzling his hand to comfort him. Luke thought about saying something reassuring when suddenly McGonagall called his name.

"Castellan, Luke!"

Luke gave one final smile to Draco and Hermione and went to sit on the stool. He put on the hat, which fell to his ears and covered his eyes.

"Hmm…" he heard a voice in his ear. "Interesting…"

 _I am very interesting person, that's true_ , thought Luke.

The Sorting Hat chuckled. "That you are, my boy. But where to put you? Obviously not Ravenclaw – there isn't much thirst for knowledge."

 _Nope_ , agreed Luke.

"Hufflepuff can also be excluded. You are not very hard-working and your loyalties can shift easily if you're given a reason to doubt."

 _Hey!_

"But here comes the hard part. It seems to me you possess Gryffindor's and Slytherin's virtues equally."

 _Wait, what?_

"You are quite brave, that much is obvious. And heroic, too, if you find something worth fighting for. But you are also very cunning."

 _Can't argue with that._

"However, the key factor here seems to be ambition."

 _What do you mean? I'm not ambitious!_

"My dear boy, rarely have I seen such ambition in a young child. I think the last time I faced something like this was when a student named Tom Riddle placed me on his head."

 _So?_

"That boy took the name Lord Voldemort when he grew up."

Luke gulped.

"No, my boy, you are very ambitious. You are planning to be the greatest hero of all time, aren't you?"

 _Is that a bad thing?_

"It's not a question of good and bad. That is a great ambition. Especially when it conflicts with your quest. Wasn't your new friend prophecised to be the greatest hero?"

 _I hate prophecies._

"I know. That's why you wish to see him fail – to prove that the Fates are wrong. And that, my dear boy is an ambition not even Tom Riddle possessed. For he never even dreamed to contradict the Fates. Escape fate? Yes. Maybe manipulating it a little? Certainly. But never discard fate completely."

 _That's- You're wrong! I don't want to see Draco fail!_

"I can read your mind, dear child. You have no reason to lie to me. You want to be the one who saves the world. And if that were to fail… would you then consider to become the greatest villain of all time, too?"

Luke found himself incapable of forming thoughts that actually made sense. His brain had turned into goo.

"I think it's pretty obvious where you belong now, isn't it?"

And before Luke could object again, the hat shouted loudly: "SLYTHERIN!"

He took the hat off with shaking hands and got on his feet. With wobbly knees he walked towards an empty seat at the Slytherin table. He barely registered the cheers and the friendly pats on the back he received from his new housemates. The hat's words still echoed in his mind, alternating with some of his mother's, during some of her weird fits.

" _Wasn't your new friend prophecised to be the greatest hero?"_

" _ **The blade of a friend!"**_

" _That's why you wish to see him fail – to prove that the Fates are wrong."_

" _ **Terrible fate! Not my son, not this fate!"**_

" _The last time I faced something like this was when a student named Tom Riddle placed me on his head."_

" _ **Evil! Golden eyes!"**_

" _Would you then consider to become the greatest villain of all time, too?"_

"You alright, pal?"

Luke looked up, startled. He saw an older student, probably a prefect, looking at him with a frown.

"Um, yeah." He forced a smile. "Just a little nervous."

He realized Crabbe and Goyle were now seated near him at the table. He looked at the first years who were still waiting to be sorted and saw Draco still there. At the moment, it was Hermione Granger that was sitting on the stool with the hat covering her eyes and forehead.

It took the Sorting Hat a couple of minutes to make a decision, which Luke thought was weird. The girl was obviously a Ravenclaw.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat and Luke blinked, surprised.

 _Wow. Who would have thought?_

For some reason, the round-faced boy that had been hiding behind Hermione when she entered Potter's compartment at the train was sorted in Gryffindor as well.

 _He and Hermione managed to get sorted in Gryffindor and I didn't. Should I be worried?_

Taking into account the hat's words, definitely.

"Malfoy, Draco!" called McGonagall.

Draco, even though he was paler than death, walked up to the stool proudly, holding his chin up. He put on the hat and waited.

Luke was watching nervously. What if he was sorted in a different house? How would he be able to keep an eye on him like Chiron told him to?

Almost five minutes passed before the hat shouted: "SLYTHERIN!"

Luke sighed in relief. Draco walked towards their table with Morty on his tail wearing a pleased smile, though Luke could see he still looked pale and a little troubled. He wondered whether the hat had told him that he was as ambitious as Voldemort, too.

The black-haired boy sat next to him. Luke expected him to say something about the sorting. Instead, he seemed determined to turn his attention elsewhere.

"I'm hungry. When are we going to eat?"

"Why did the hat take so long to sort you?" asked Luke, ignoring Draco's words.

"Why did the hat take so long to sort _you_?" the boy shot back.

Luke nodded. "Fair enough."

The sorting continued the same as before, until Harry Potter's name was called.

Several people gasped. As soon as the boy put on the hat, the whispering started.

Draco scoffed. "Thank Merlin that freak is not going to be sorted in Slytherin."

"How do you know?" asked Luke.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Did he give you the impression he could be a Slytherin?"

"No, not really," Luke admitted. "But why wouldn't you want him to be in Slytherin? It's not his fault that red-head attacked your parents."

"He's a freak," said Draco, sighing in relief when the hat called "GRYFFINDOR!"

Luke frowned. "He looks pretty normal to me."

"Trust me, there's something wrong with him." He shivered. "And the same goes for that guy."

He turned towards the High Table to see where Draco was pointing. There he saw a fidgety man with a weird purple turban.

He looked back at Draco, confused. "Are you sure you don't mean that creepy guy with the black hair?"

The boy shook his head. "That's Snape. He's a family friend."

"Of course he is." Luke rolled his eyes. Draco glared at him. "Sorry, I just don't see it. They both are weird, but definitely not… you know. Something to worry about."

"I'm right, you'll see," said Draco stubbornly.

Luke sighed. He turned his attention to the High Table, as the sorting had ended in the meantime and now the headmaster was standing up, smiling benevolently to the students.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Luke chuckled. "You were right, Draco, he's a nutter."

But the crazy headmaster was driven out of his mind when he saw the food that had just appeared in front of him. He dug in like he hadn't eaten for days. Meanwhile, Draco was scolding Morty to make him stop attacking the sausages. He did pass him a few under the table though.

When Luke finally felt ready to burst from all the food, he looked up from his plate. At that moment, a ghost with bloody robes and chains settled himself at the seat opposite Draco.

"My king," he said in a serious, almost reverent voice. "I came to congratulate you on your sorting and tell you that, if you need anything, I am at your service."

Draco looked a little flustered but, when he saw everybody staring at him, he took a smug expression.

"Thank you, I shall bear that in mind."

"Why do all the ghosts call you their king?" asked another first year, seated a little further away.

"Apparently, Hogwarts ghosts know their place better than you, Nott," snapped Draco.

"Or maybe you're so pale, they think you're dead, too," suggested Luke.

Nott snickered. "Good one- What's your name again?"

"Luke Castellan."

"Castellan?" asked a dark skinned boy, also a first year. "Like-"

"Like May Castellan, the famous Seer?" Luke finished his sentence in a weary voice. "Yes, she's my mom."

"Hmm…" said the boy with interest. "I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Nice to meet you."

"Has your mother made predictions in front of you?" asked Nott curiously.

An image of his mother with wild glowing green eyes flashed in front of his eyes.

" _ **Terrible fate! Not my son, not this fate!"**_

" _ **Evil! Golden eyes!"**_

"Sometimes," he said simply.

"Wicked!"

"What about your father?" asked Zabini.

"What about him?"

"Is he a wizard?"

"No."

Zabini's lip curled with distaste.

"You mean you live with a Muggle?" said Nott, disgusted.

"My father doesn't live with me," said Luke, not bothering to tell him that his father wasn't a Muggle. He figured he would sound crazy if he said his father was a god.

"He abandoned you?" asked Zabini.

"Well, not exactly… It's not like he and my mother ever got married. And he visits very often to check on my mom."

"That's good," said Zabini. "Even if you're a half-blood, at least you were raised like a wizard."

"Yeah, right," said Luke, hoping he wouldn't have to elaborate on how exactly he was raised.

Thank the gods, the food chose that moment to disappear and everyone's attention turned towards the High Table as Dumbledore stood up.

"Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils."

"Are there monsters in the forest?" Luke asked the older Slytherins with hope. He was thinking about the creatures in the forest back at camp, where they played capture the flag.

"Oh, there are all kinds of magical beasts in the Forbidden Forest," said a fifth year girl.

"Cool!"

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors," continued Dumbledore. "Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Luke's eyes glinted mischievously. "We should definitely check that corridor out!" he whispered to Draco.

"What? Didn't you just hear what he said about _a very painful death_?"

He scoffed. "No wonder the hat didn't put you in Gryffindor."

Luke expected some sort of retort. Instead, Draco quickly turned to look at Dumbledore again – but not before he could catch the nervous and troubled expression on his face.

Luke was stunned. Was it possible that the hat had offered to put Draco in Gryffindor?

After singing the school song, Dumbledore finally dismissed them. Luke and Draco sleepily followed the Slytherin prefect along with the other first years. They went down a few flights of stairs and then reached a dead-end.

"Pure blood," said the prefect to the bare wall and an invisible door opened on the wall.

They followed the prefect inside the common room. It was a long bleak room with stone walls. There were sofas and high-backed armchairs all around and a fireplace with a crackling fire burning pleasantly. Apart from the fire, the room was also illuminated by green lamps hanging with chains from the ceiling. The eerie green light suddenly reminded him of the green smoke of the Oracle and sent shivers down Luke's spine.

"Are you alright?" asked Draco frowning.

" _ **A cunning ploy shall seal your fate…"**_ the Oracle's words came unbidden to his mind.

"I'm fine."

The first year boys went to their dormitories and found their belongings waiting for them. Luke wearily changed into his pajamas and slid inside his warm bed, hoping that maybe tonight he wouldn't get nightmares about green eyes and ominous words spoken by shriveled mummies…

* * *

A/N:

In case anyone's wondering, the 'black-haired boy' is Draco. I changed the color of his hair because of… well, _genetics_.

I don't think there's any need to clarify who Draco's real father is. I think it's pretty obvious. ;)

Thanks for reading. I'll be updating soon.


	3. Dangerous path

Chapter 3: Dangerous path

When the mail arrived on Friday morning Draco saw his family's owl flying towards him and he felt a nervous knot in his stomach.

"Is it from your parents?" asked Luke helping himself with toast. Until that day Luke hadn't received any letters.

"Yes," said Draco as he untied the letter, the owl fidgeting nervously at his presence.

He breathed again when he saw his mother's handwriting on the parchment.

 _Dear Draco,_

 _I was so happy when I received your letter! You did promise you would write but I thought you'd be so excited about Hogwarts that you'd forget all about me!_

 _I'm very glad you made a friend in school. I mean someone other than those two morons your father introduced you_ _to! I think he regrets his decision a little as well. Idiots don't make good allies – he knows that. He was a little frustrated that Luke is a half-blood, but I made sure to remind him of the benefits of befriending the son of a famous Seer. Don't worry son, I got your back!_

 _How are the lessons going? Are you learning a lot? Are the teachers giving you trouble? Tell me everything!_

 _Things here are the same as you left them. The only difference is that you're not here. You can't imagine how boring life in the manor is now that you're not around getting into all sorts of trouble!_

 _I miss you a lot. Please, don't forget to write!_

 _Love,_

 _Mum._

Draco smiled a little. He had been very nervous about what his father would say about him befriending a half-blood. Thank Merlin, his mother came to his rescue. It was clever of her to exploit the fact that May Castellan was Luke's mother. Sometimes Draco forgot that his mother had also been a Slytherin. He was just glad he'd thought not to mention in his letter that Luke's mother had gone crazy. Or that he had shared a compartment with a Mudblood.

When they finished their breakfast, he and Luke headed to the dungeons for double Potions with the Gryffindors. Draco was glad Crabbe and Goyle made no attempt to follow them. They had finally gotten the hint that he had no desire to hang out with them. He much preferred Luke's company, even if he was a half-blood. Sometimes he was annoying, but he was quite fun to be around. And if his father ordered him to stop being friends with him, he could hang out with Nott or Zabini.

Outside the Potions classroom they saw a few Gryffindors already waiting there. Potter and Weasley were there, as well as Longbottom. The two boys also spotted Granger standing alone, looking miserable.

"Hey, Granger!" called Luke with a smile before Draco could stop him.

The girl looked up with hope. She actually smiled when she saw them.

"Hi, Luke," she said and then turned to Draco with an uncertain expression, like she didn't know how to act towards him. Draco had opened his mouth to say something but he suddenly noticed that Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were looking at them with distaste and he blanched.

 _Father's definitely going to hear about this_ , he thought with dread. _And he is not going to be happy._

"How was your first week at Hogwarts?" asked Luke.

Granger's eyes lit up. "Oh, Hogwarts is wonderful! And the lessons are _so_ interesting! We've only been here for a week and we've already learned so much! McGonagall told me from the very first lesson that I'm a very promising young witch. And Flitwick said-"

"Whoa, Granger, breathe," said Draco rolling his eyes. She blushed.

"How did you find the Gryffindors?" asked Luke.

All her elation melted. "Oh, um… They're great. I mean-" She wouldn't meet their eyes. It didn't take a genius to understand she had made no friends in her house. That was probably why she looked less bossy now. Apparently, she wasn't too eager to alienate the only two people who were talking to her.

"Chill, Granger," said Luke airily. "Trust me, those gits will regret not becoming friends with you."

He elbowed Draco. "Oh, sure," he chimed in, rubbing his arm. "They will definitely regret it, especially when the first test comes up and they won't be able to cheat from you."

That managed to get a little smile from her. "Thanks, Draco." He just frowned, as he couldn't think of how to respond to this. He suddenly noticed that by now all Slytherins and Gryffindors waiting outside the Potions classroom were watching them, others looking curious, others clearly disapproving.

 _I'm so dead._

Before he could say something, Snape approached with his black robes billowing behind him, making him look like a huge bat. He glanced towards Draco and his company with an unreadable expression before he opened the classroom door with a wave of his wand. The students entered warily.

Draco sat at the front of the classroom and he was joined by Luke and Granger. Draco's last hope that it wouldn't reach his father that he was affiliating with a Mudblood was snuffed out as well. And he didn't think this time his mother would be able to get him out of trouble. He suddenly realized his hands were shaking as he was taking out his books.

After he finished the roll call, Snape made a small speech about the art of potionmaking which had the whole classroom hypnotized.

That was until he attacked Potter, asking him questions about the lesson. Draco and Luke had to forcibly pin Granger's hands down, so that she wouldn't try to answer the questions and give the professor the chance to snap at her.

After he finished humiliating Potter, he told them to make a simple potion from the book.

Luke raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Castellan?"

"Sir, I have dyslexia. I can't read the instructions."

A couple of Gryffindors snickered. "Silence," hissed Snape. "Two points from Gryffindor. As for your problem, Mr. Castellan, I'm sure Miss Granger will be glad to help you." He smiled sardonically, looking at the bushy-haired witch. "After all, she seems so eager to prove her worth."

Hermione's cheeks were painted red but did what she was told, reading out the instructions to Luke. Draco worked with Zabini, who was eyeing him suspiciously the whole time.

Snape then proceeded to walk among the students, watching them working and criticizing them heavily. Draco was the only one who didn't receive such treatment, thanks to his friendship with his father. Though he did give him a few glances that Draco didn't know what to make of. However, he didn't get a chance to dwell on it, as he had to climb on his chair real quick to avoid the potion Longbottom managed to spill on the floor.

When the class was dismissed, Snape told Draco to stay behind. The boy felt his insides twist, and the fact that both Luke and Granger waited for him at the door didn't help.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

Snape looked at him with a piercing gaze. Draco felt uncomfortable, like the Potions Master could read his mind, but he couldn't avert his eyes. All he could do was hope he wouldn't see how afraid he was of the prospect that he would tell his father everything. They stared at each other for a few moments. The professor's mouth twitched slightly downwards before his face turned expressionless again.

"I want you to come to my office this evening. I'd like us to have a few words… _in private_." At the last two words he turned his gaze to Luke and Granger.

"Alright," said Draco numbly.

Snape looked at him for a few more moments before he dismissed him.

"Well, that was weird," said Luke as they were walking towards the Great Hall.

"Are you in trouble?" asked Granger.

Draco grunted something incoherent.

"That guy is creepy," said Luke. "Definitely creepier than Quirell."

On their first lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Draco had sited at the desk closer to the door – as if to be able to flee at the first sign of freakish behavior – and he had been jumpy the whole time.

"Quirell?" said Granger, puzzled. "Why would you think professor Quirell is creepy?"

"I just don't trust him," snapped Draco.

"Oh, come on, Draco!" Luke rolled his eyes. "Do you honestly think that stuttering idiot could be a threat to anybody?

"Or maybe it's just an act!"

Granger frowned. "An act?"

"Well, if _I_ was up to something, I would make sure I didn't attract suspicion. I definitely wouldn't go around scaring first years and taking house points for breathing too loudly!"

"But Dumbledore wouldn't hire someone who could be dangerous."

Draco snorted.

She wasn't fazed. "Do you have proof that he is indeed up to something?"

"No, Granger, I don't have proof," he sneered. "But I feel it."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, you need more concrete evidence than that. An 'I feel it' won't stand to any court."

"Did I ask you to be my lawyer?" snapped Draco.

"No."

"Then keep the legal advice to yourself."

Granger opened her mouth to retort, but Luke managed to interfere. "Alright, kids, now play nice."

The two of them glared at each other but didn't say anything else.

"Good," said Luke smiling as they reached the Great Hall. Granger suddenly stopped walking. "Something wrong?"

"Um, I have to go to the Gryffindor table," she muttered.

"Why don't you sit with us?" asked Luke.

 _I'm going to kill him_ , thought Draco.

Granger's eyebrows shot up. "You want me… to sit with you?"

"Of course not!" said Draco before Luke could say anything. "Piss off, Granger. Go to your _Gryffindors_." He put as much contempt in the last word as he could manage.

The girl looked really hurt but she swallowed back the tears. "As you wish," she said through clenched teeth and walked away.

Luke glared at Draco as they sat at the table. "That was rude."

"What were you thinking?" Draco snapped back in a quiet voice, so that no one else would hear. "Asking a Muggle-born Gryffindor to sit at the Slytherin table? She'd be eaten alive!"

The blond blinked, surprised. "You're concerned about Granger's well-being?"

Draco opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Zabini's voice. "So, what are you up to, Malfoy?"

He looked at his fellow Slytherin. He realized Nott and Parkinson were listening closely. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You've got to have a reason for getting all cozy with a Mudblood." Luke flinched at the word. "Don't tell me you actually… consider her _an equal_?"

"Don't be silly, Zabini." Draco gave him the coldest stare he could manage. "As for what I'm up to… I'll tell you to mind your own business. I'm not about to share my devious plans with anyone."

Zabini looked at him with narrowed eyes for a moment before he nodded, apparently pleased with his answer.

"I told you he would never become friends with a Mudblood," said Parkinson smiling smugly. Draco managed to suppress a sigh of relief.

After lunch, he and Luke went to their common room to relax for a bit. After a couple of hours, it was evident that Luke sucked at wizard chess. He had a good strategic mind and sometimes made some really impressive moves but then he would get bored or impatient and lose spectacularly. Draco wasn't the best at chess either, but he supposed that AHD-whatever didn't help much. Finally, after another victory, Draco decided he should go to Snape's office and see what he wanted to tell him.

"Come in," he heard the professor's voice after he knocked on his door.

Draco entered and walked towards Snape's desk looking collected, if a little wary.

"Sit," said the Potions Master pointing to a chair opposite him.

"What did you want to talk to me about, sir?" asked Draco after he took his seat.

"I would like to discuss about your… _acquaintances_ in Hogwarts. I am… quite surprised with the choices you've made thus far." Once again, Snape's piercing black eyes locked on Draco's and the boy found himself incapable of averting his gaze.

Almost instinctivly, he cleared his mind of any thought, as if afraid his teacher would be able to read his thoughts if he didn't. After years of having to hide stuff from his father, it wasn't that difficult to burry any incriminating thoughts and he looked at the professor calmly as he responded.

"What do you mean, sir?"

Snape raised his eyebrows slightly, looking a bit surprised… almost impressed. But then his face was expressionless again.

"Well, I wouldn't have thought Mr. Castellan and Miss Granger would be your first choice of company."

"Because of their blood status?"

"For the most part."

"Granger was not my choice," stated Draco. "It was Luke's. But I can keep my distance from her. I know I can."

"What about Mr. Castellan? Was he your choice?"

"Well… He kind of forced his company on me. But he's not that bad, really. Certainly better than Crabbe and Goyle. As for his blood status, half-bloods are fairly acceptable… Especially since his mother is a famous Seer."

"I quite agree. After all, I am a half-blood myself." Snape paused for a moment. "But, Mr. Malfoy, I didn't invite you here to lecture you."

"You- You didn't?"

"No. I only wish to advise you to be more careful. Not much escapes your father's attention. And you know that he will be far less understanding than me on this matter."

Draco swallowed. "Will you- Will you tell my father about-"

"Miss Granger?" Snape completed his sentence. "No. Not this time."

"Really?" Draco couldn't believe his luck.

The corner of Snape's lips twitched slightly. "Really, Mr. Malfoy. But, as I said, you need to be more careful."

"I will, sir," said the boy, grateful. "Thank you."

"There is one more thing I wish to discuss with you."

"What is it, sir?"

"Your mother has contacted me. She has asked me to give you a few… _private lessons_."

"Private lessons?"

"Yes. Have you heard of the art of Occlumency?"

Draco shook his head.

"People who have mastered this art can keep their minds safe from intrusion."

"Intrusion?" Draco's eyes widened. "You mean like… mind reading?"

Snape's mouth twitched slightly. "The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure, Mr. Malfoy. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing. It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly."

The boy stared at the professor. "Can you-"

" _Read minds_?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "Yes. I am skilled in both Occlumency and Legilimency."

Draco gulped. So, he was right. All those times he'd felt like Snape's piercing gaze was reading his thoughts, this was exactly what it'd been doing.

"And you wish to teach me how to protect my mind?"

"It is your mother's request. But yes, if you agree, I can teach you."

"Okay," said Draco without even thinking about it. "When do we start?"

"Well, I don't think I'll find time until before the Christmas holidays. I will let you know."

"Alright. Thank you, sir."

Snape nodded before he dismissed him. Draco already had his hand on the doorknob when suddenly he stopped and turned to the professor again.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

He hesitated for a moment, but in the end he blurted it. "Is it true that the Muggles have traveled to the moon?"

Snape looked a bit taken aback by the question. His lips twitched again before he answered. "Yes, it's true."

"Without magic?" said Draco in disbelief. "Just with their brains?"

"Yes."

The boy stared at the Potions Master. Up until that moment, he had convinced himself that Granger had lied or exaggerated. As for Luke, he wasn't exactly the most reliable source. But now Snape had confirmed it as well and he was a trusted friend of the Malfoys. He couldn't deny the fact anymore, or what it meant. And it meant that maybe Muggles weren't the brutes he'd always been assured they were. Not if they had managed something wizards hadn't even dreamed of doing…

Draco was on a very dangerous path.

He took a deep breath and turned the knob. "Good evening, professor."

"Good evening, Draco."

* * *

After yet another sleepless night, Draco decided to act.

Five days had passed since his discussion with Snape. Following his professor's advice, he avoided Granger as much as he could. He ignored her when he could and, when Luke managed to get her to join them, he made sure to act visibly cold towards her, like he was merely tolerating her presence for his friend's sake. His fellow Slytherins gave him sympathetic looks, like they pitied him for having to put up with a Mudblood because of his _devious plans_. He would drop quite a lot of hints about those non-existent plans, leading them to believe they were big and so cunning that they would make the Malfoys proud. It seemed that it had worked so far, and, judging by the absence of Howlers, his father hadn't caught up to him yet.

But the thing that didn't let him sleep at night was Granger's revelation back at the train, which Snape had now confirmed. The Muggles had been to the moon. And Draco now had to know. Was it just luck, a one-time success, or were Muggles actually very advanced, even without magic?

So, on Wednesday night, after all of his dorm-mates had fallen asleep, Draco slipped out of his bed.

Morty, who was slumbering next to his bed, opened his eyes and looked at him questioningly.

 _I'm going out,_ he said to the dog.

 _Want me to come with you, boss?_

 _No, if you come along I could get caught. It's best to go alone._

Morty looked disappointed but stayed put.

Without making a sound, Draco opened his trunk and slipped his hand inside. After a little while of searching blindly, he touched something shriveling and very gross. He pulled it out and immediately it started emitting a bright glow.

Draco wasn't afraid the light would wake the other boys. The Hand of Glory only glows for the person holding it. His mother had purchased the magical object from Borgin and Burk's, a shop in Knockturn Alley that sold many dark artifacts. It was one of the three things she had given him before he came to Hogwarts.

The second gift from his mother was the black watch he was wearing on his left hand. It had a small button on top, which Draco now pressed.

It was the second time he had used this object, but it still felt _very_ strange. He felt immaterial, like he was just a ghost, a floating consciousness without a body. But what he truly was at the moment was a shadow. That was all the boys would see if they woke up and looked at where he stood.

He walked towards the door of the dormitory – though 'walked' wasn't actually a correct description. He wasn't solid, so he couldn't technically walk. He just thought where he wanted to go and the shadow slid there. He still hadn't gotten used to moving around like this, but it didn't really matter. It wasn't like he was going to bump into anything – he didn't have mass to do so.

Draco passed right through the door and the stone wall of the common room and started wandering the dark corridors of the castle, guided by the glow of the Hand of Glory, which had become part of the shadow as he had been holding it when he pressed the button on his watch.

He didn't encounter anyone on his way to the library. When he got inside, he strained his ears to make sure no one was inside, and then he mentally pressed the button on his watch again, causing him to materialize. He had to do so, as he wouldn't be able to touch the books if he was still a shadow.

He found the Muggle Studies aisle and started picking out books that would hold answers for him. Then he sat on a table and started reading under the glow of the hand.

It was almost four in the morning when he finally put the books back on their shelves with a throbbing headache. A million thoughts were swirling through his brain.

Apparently, Granger hadn't exaggerated. If anything, she was playing it down a bit so as not to shock him too much all at once. Muggles had not only gone to the moon, but also invented something called electricity that seemed to replace magic for them. And, not only they weren't weak and defenseless brutes, but they also had weapons wizards couldn't even dream of. The few things he found in the books about the weapons they called nuclear had made him sweat.

And, like Granger said, they made all of those achievements thanks to something they called science and technology, which didn't involve magic – just logic and intelligence.

Draco buried his face in his hands as his whole world crumbled. Everything he had been taught was a lie. And the worst thing was that now he knew the truth. And things would never be the same again.

He sighed and with a shaking hand he pressed the button on his watch. As soon as he dematerialized, his headache disappeared – for the obvious reason that he didn't have a head anymore.

He began wandering the corridors again, slowly making his way back to the dormitory, when suddenly he heard voices coming from an unused classroom. He froze when he recognized one of the voices. It was professor Quirell. And he wasn't stuttering anymore.

"-it will be arranged by Halloween," he was saying.

"Good," answered another higher voice. "Make sure the diversion happens far from the forbidden corridor and that it lasts long enough. Even if we won't get the stone the same day, we should at least be able to figure out the wards the other professors have placed on it."

"Not to worry, my lord. What I have arranged will be quite spectacular."

 _So he really is up to something_ , Draco thought.

"It'd better be. For your sake."

The threat hung in the air for a couple of minutes. During that time Draco's curiosity won and he passed through the classroom door.

Quirell was alone in the dark classroom, sitting on the chair behind the teacher's desk. His turban was on the desk, leaving his bald head bare. Draco looked around nervously. Where was the other man?

"My lord…" Quirell tentatively started talking again, seemingly to himself. "If you don't mind me asking… What are you planning to do after the Philosopher's Stone is in your possession and you come back to full strength?"

The voice that answered him seemed to come from Quirell himself, though the man wasn't moving his lips. "The first thing I'm going to do is kill Harry Potter," it said, drenched with hatred. "And then everyone will know that there's no one more powerful than Lord Voldemort, not even the _Boy-Who-Lived_!"

It took all of his willpower not to gasp loudly.

 _Quirell is consorting with the Dark Lord? And he's here, at Hogwarts?_

Slowly, Draco slid forward, towards the Defense professor, his immaterial heart pounding. He had a really bad feeling about this, but his curiosity wouldn't let him leave without figuring this out.

When he could finally see the back of Quirell's head, he had to put both hands in front of his mouth to smother a scream. On the back of the professor's head there was another face – the scariest he had ever set eyes upon. It was even paler than Draco's and snakelike. His eyes were bright red and, instead of a nose, he had two slits.

Without thinking twice, Draco fled through the blackboard and the stone wall behind it. He crossed corridor after corridor, putting as much distance between him and the horrible two-faced man as possible.

Even in his frantic state, Draco managed to make one coherent thought.

His life had suddenly become _a lot_ more complicated.

* * *

A/N:

First off, happy new year! Best wishes to you all!

I've had a question about the oath of the Big Three. Yes, the story takes it into account. The oath is the reason why Draco is currently the only candidate for the Prophecy. That will change at some point, though, because Bianca and Nico will be joining the story. Now, how that is going to work… Well, you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Also, the only reason Zeus hasn't burned Draco to a crisp with his lightning is that he doesn't know of his existence yet. The only ones who know apart from his parents are Chiron, Luke and Hermes (just because his son was the one who was assigned this quest).

Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter. The next one will be up soon.


	4. Desire

Chapter 4: Desire

"You alright?" asked Luke at lunch the next day.

Draco looked up from his still full plate. "Brilliant," he said briskly. How could he even begin to tell him that, during the course of one night, he found out that everything he thought about Muggles was a lie, _and_ he came face to face with the Dark Lord, though _he_ didn't know that?

Luke didn't seem convinced. "Are you nervous about the flying lesson?"

Draco grasped at the opportunity. "A little," he said, trying to look embarrassed.

The truth was that he really _was_ nervous about flying. He hated heights – something his father always scorned him for. But he wasn't in full panic mode like he would be any other day. Somehow, the prospect of falling from a great height and breaking his neck wasn't his biggest worry right now.

He risked a glance towards the High Table. Quirell looked like his usual fidgety self, his turban back in place. Hadn't it been for that bad feeling he always got when he was in his presence, Draco might have actually thought he had dreamed last night.

"Don't worry," Luke said smirking. "I'll catch you if you fall."

Draco didn't find that very reassuring but he nodded.

After lunch, the two boys headed outside, to the spot where their first flying lesson would take place. Draco stood by a broomstick next to Luke, his mind elsewhere.

What was he going to do about Quirell? He knew the smart thing would be to keep it to himself. If he said anything, not only would his father punish him severely, but also nobody would believe him.

But he couldn't just do nothing. The Dark Lord made it clear. After he took that Philosopher's Stone – whatever that was – he would be back to full power. And then the first thing he'd do would be to kill Harry Potter. And, as much as the boy gave him the creeps, it didn't sit right with him to just let him die.

"Up," he said half-heartedly, to which the broomstick didn't respond.

And Potter wouldn't be the only one who would be in danger. Draco cast a sideways glance to Granger, who was standing at the other side of Luke, trying to make her broomstick come to her hand. The Muggle-borns would be high on Voldemort's kill list.

"Up."

Draco didn't actually consider Granger his friend or anything. He didn't even like her. She was a frustrating bossy know-it-all. But he didn't really want to see her get killed.

All in all, Draco wished he'd stayed in bed last night.

"UP!"

Suddenly, the broomstick went upright and smacked him right in the nose.

"Ow!"

Most Gryffindors and a few Slytherins laughed. Draco spotted Potter among them.

 _Well, maybe I won't mind_ that _much if the Dark Lord kills him_ , he thought darkly.

After everyone had mounted their brooms, Madam Hooch told them to hover for a few seconds and come right back down. Draco felt the panic get a grip on him but – thank Merlin – before the whistle blew, Longbottom shot up in the sky and then fell on the ground with force. He didn't feel guilty at all for letting out a sigh of relief when Madam Hooch left to take him to the hospital wing. He was fairly certain that, if his feet had left the ground, _he_ would be the one being led to the infirmary.

There was some murmuring between some of the students left behind but he didn't pay much attention to it, as he was now back to pondering what to do about Quirell. However, Potter's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Malfoy, give it back!"

Draco looked at the boy, startled. "What?"

"You took Neville's Remembrall! I saw it roll towards you and now it's gone."

"What are you-"

"You stole it!" Weasley said as well, and then more and more Gryffindors chimed in.

"SHUT UP!" Draco's voice rose above everyone else's.

Everybody's eyes were now on his flashed face. "I didn't steal anything! Why on earth would I want that stupid ball?"

"Where did it go, then?" countered Weasley. "Maybe it grew wings and flew away?"

"Yeah, Draco, where did it go?" joined Luke as well.

Draco turned to Luke with narrowed eyes. Luke stared back innocently.

Draco wasn't fooled. "Give it to me, Luke."

"Come and get it!" laughed Luke, abandoning all pretense, and grabbed a broom. "Catch me if you can!" he shouted and kicked off the second before Draco reached him.

Draco expected him to have the same fate with Neville. The fact that the boy flew really well infuriated him even more.

"You are so dead, Castellan!"

Luke laughed as he quickly zoomed past him. "You gotta catch me first!"

"You're not seriously thinking about it?" said Granger in her usual bossy manner. "You'll get killed! Or worse, expelled!"

Draco was actually tempted to mount a broom as well, but self-preservation was a strong instinct. He just stood there seething as Luke circled above them, taunting him. "Aren't you going to come and get this?" he shouted showing him the transparent little ball.

"Hey!" yelled Potter. "That's not yours!"

"If you can take it from me, you can have it!" Luke dared the Boy-Who-Lived.

Potter's eyes sparked. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed a broom and, in seconds, he was on the air, flying towards Luke.

The blond boy smirked before he started flying away. "Now it's getting interesting!"

The first years watched the two boys maneuvering through the air with stunned expressions. Both boys were naturals and, almost, equals. After both boys managed to pull out of a very dangerous-looking dive, they heard a very strict voice.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Castellan!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "On the ground, _now_!"

Both of them obeyed. Once they were standing in front of her, the professor glared at the two boys.

"What were you two thinking? You could have gotten yourselves killed! Explain yourselves!"

"Luke stole Neville's Remembrall!" interfered Weasley.

McGonagall turned to Luke with a stern expression. "Is this true?"

The boy smiled innocently as he raised the small ball. "I was just taking a look at it."

"Fifty feet in the air?" she said, exasperated.

He shrugged. "The light's better there."

McGonagall pursed her lips, but somehow looked a bit softened. "You will hand over the object to me, which in turn I shall return to Mr. Longbottom. Twenty points are taken from Slytherin, plus ten more points for flying when specifically instructed not to. And ten points from Gryffindor, as well." Potter opened his mouth to object, but McGonagall interrupted him. "I'm not hearing it, Mr. Potter! You disobeyed your teacher, too. And you will both receive detentions."

This time both boys began to protest, but the professor silenced them with a stern glare. "And now, both of you, follow me."

The two boys followed the Transfiguration professor numbly, probably wondering what else she would find to punish them with.

"What an idiot," muttered Draco shaking his head as he started walking back to the castle.

"He's lucky he didn't get expelled," said Granger joining him and her tone reminded him of McGonagall.

"He's lucky he didn't fall to his death."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You're scared of heights, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Granger."

She shrugged. "I'm not too thrilled about flying, either," she said. "I mean what's the purpose of endangering yourself every time you want to go somewhere? Just use Apparition!"

"Not to mention the Floo Network, or the Knight Bus."

"And what's all the fuss about Quidditch? Just flying around throwing balls? It's idiotic!"

"And a waste of time! They could spend this time to actually do something productive."

"Like reading!"

"Even reading is much more preferable than-"

He stopped talking abruptly when they entered the entrance hall, because there he spotted Quirell.

Voldemort just saw him with a Muggle-born.

He had to think quick. "Why are you following me, you filthy Mudblood?" he snapped at her and fled the hall before he saw the hurt look on her face.

* * *

Luke decided that he'd never tell Draco that Harry Potter was actually an alright guy. He certainly enjoyed their joined efforts to come up with names to call Filch as they were scrubbing the floors of the fifth floor.

"Just two more classrooms," muttered Harry before he added another swear word.

But they had to admit, it had been worth it – even if they got a week detention. Right after the incident with the Remembrall, McGonagall led them, first to Oliver Wood, then to Professor Snape. Harry had joined the Gryffindor Qudditch team at once. As for Luke, Snape would get him to play for Slytherin as soon as there was a vacancy in the team.

He and Harry entered the classroom before last and looked curiously at the object on a desk at the far end of the room. It was a mirror, and there was an inscription on top of it.

"Desire?" said Luke, squinting.

"Erised," corrected Harry. "Why do you think it's here?"

"One way to find out," said Luke and walked forward.

The two boys stood in front of the mirror, expecting something to happen. But all they saw was themselves.

"Great," said Luke, disappointed. "It's not even magical." He walked away from the mirror to start scrubbing again. Suddenly, Harry gasped.

"What?" he asked.

Harry glanced behind him, but there was no one there.

"What?" Luke repeated.

"I-" Harry looked intently at his reflection. "I think I can see my parents," he whispered.

Luke stared at him, shocked. He went and stood next to Harry again, but he still couldn't see anything but their reflections.

"They disappeared," said Harry in a disappointed whisper.

"Maybe you should stand alone in front of the mirror to see them," suggested Luke.

"Maybe…" said Harry. "Do you think you'll be able to see your parents if you stood here alone?"

Luke shrugged. "Let's find out."

Harry stood aside and Luke gazed at the mirror. At first, nothing happened. Then…

Luke gasped loudly. He didn't see his parents. What he saw was himself… but different.

He was older, taller and stronger. He looked confident and proud. He had laurels on his head. All around him, he could see other demigods from Camp Half-blood, all looking at him with admiration. Among them, he saw Draco. He was standing in the background, no one paying attention to him as everybody watched at Luke. He, too, had an awed expression on his face. Luke spotted his father standing at the back. Hermes was watching his son, looking most proud.

 _He_ was the hero. He had saved Olympus…

 _Desire…_ he mused.

Suddenly, his mesmerized expression was replaced with one of horror.

" _You are planning to be the greatest hero of all time, aren't you?"_ the Sorting Hat's words echoed to his mind. _"That's why you wish to see Draco fail – to prove that the Fates are wrong."_

"Are you alright?" asked Harry nervously.

Luke took a deep breath to calm himself. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"So? Do you see your parents?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." It wasn't totally a lie. He could still see his father, watching him with a broad smile.

But it was Draco who held his gaze. His almost reverent expression was what sobered him. Draco would never look at him like that. Even if he saved the world – even if he became the greatest hero of all times. This was just a silly dream that would never be fulfilled. _Thank the gods._

Because now Luke knew – he would make a _really_ bad hero. Even if he managed to save Olympus, he wouldn't be able to stop there. He knew it. He would want to go even higher. Maybe even… challenge the gods?

Hubris. That was his fatal flaw. It was so obvious now.

No, it had to be someone else. _**A half-blood of the eldest gods…**_

 _Could it really be Draco though?_ he wondered as he was walking back to the Slytherin common room after his detention was over.

The Oracle had promised it would be him. _**"He shall be the one you seek/ The hero of Olympus and the Ghost King…"**_

But the boy was one of the least heroic people he had ever met. And he was actually getting worse.

Luke had intentionally approached Hermione all those times, hoping that Draco would see sense and forget about his prejudices. Hermione was the perfect candidate for that. She was really smart and the best witch of their year. He thought that it would be enough for Draco to see that the notion that Muggle-borns were inferior was unfounded.

At the beginning, things were looking up. Draco hadn't accepted Hermione but he tolerated her, even if it was for Luke's sake. Also, Hermione's revelation that Muggles had been to the moon seemed that it had shaken the boy a little. But after Draco's talk with Snape they were right back where they started. He was once more really cold with Hermione and made sure to avoid her whenever he could. Luke, of course, wasn't that disheartened at the time. He knew this would take time…

But the last week the situation deteriorated even more. Suddenly, Draco was downright hostile towards Hermione. Whenever he saw her, he would loudly make degrading comments about her and her parents. He did the same with others, too – mostly to Muggle-borns, but not only. Harry Potter also received the same treatment, as well as Ron Weasley. Luke once had to step in before Draco could challenge the two boys to a duel.

Honestly, Luke didn't know what to make of all this. He wondered maybe Draco was up to something. Once or twice, he saw his bed empty at night. Where was he going? Luke had decided that he would follow him once, but he never caught him at the act of leaving. Apparently, the boy made sure the other boys were fast asleep before he sneaked out.

Luke stopped in front of the stone wall that hid the entrance to the common room. Maybe there was another way to find out where Draco was going in the middle of the night. It would involve breaking a few rules but, hey, it was for the common good.

He smiled slyly before he entered the common room. Chiron did instruct him to keep a close eye on him, didn't he?

* * *

The next time Luke awoke in the middle of the night finding Draco's bed empty it was the night before Halloween.

He slipped out of bed without a sound and searched in his trunk for something. When he finally found it, he slowly made his way out of the dormitory, guided by the silver light of the full moon that came from the window.

Luke sat on an armchair near the dying fire of the common room and opened the piece of parchment he was holding. He pointed his wand at it and, with barely contained excitement, he uttered: _"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."_

He watched, fascinated, as criss-crossing inky lines appeared on the yellowish parchment. Letters appeared on it, saying: _Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP_.

This thing was indeed a treasure. He had once glimpsed the Weasley twins using it and he knew he needed to make it his. So, a couple of weeks ago, he sneaked into their dormitory and stole it. Piece of cake.

Luke's eyes scanned the parchment. Where was Draco?

Despite his dyslexia, he knew he would be able to recognize Draco's dot. After all, _draco_ was also a latin word meaning dragon.

Most rooms and hallways were empty at that time of night, so it wasn't hard to pin-point the boy.

Luke grunted in disappointment.

 _Seriously? The library?_

He shook his head. Why would he sneak out in the middle of the night to visit the library? Was he as much of a nerd as Hermione? Or maybe he was searching for something that he shouldn't be looking for?

Luke sighed. There was no way he could find out, except by asking him directly.

He started gazing at the map, his eyes following absently the other lone dots that wandered the empty corridors – mostly teachers and prefects, doing their rounds. Whoever Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs were, they deserved a medal for this amazing creation. It was indeed genius-

Luke suddenly gasped. He blinked several times, as if that would make what he was seeing disappear, or even make sense.

 _What on Hades-?_

There was a lone dot sneaking around the castle hallways. That wasn't the weird part. The weird thing was that there were two names over it. One of them he managed to recognize as Quirell. The other…

 _Tom Riddle_.

He thought that he must be wrong. It must be his dyslexia acting up. But the longer he looked at the two words, the more sure he became that he wasn't mistaken.

He had heard that name before, and he remembered exactly when. It was the Sorting Hat that told him that it had once met a boy named Tom Riddle, who apparently was as ambitious as Luke… And that boy turned out to be none other than…

 _Lord Voldemort._

Voldemort was in Hogwarts. And he was using Quirell as his host.

Luke groaned loudly. Now that it turned out Draco had been right, he'd never hear the end of it…

* * *

The next day, Luke wanted to speak with Draco alone and tell him what he had found out, but he never got the chance. So now they were sitting at the Slytherin table for the Halloween feast. Draco didn't seem to notice the cool decorations at all. He looked really tense as he kept glancing towards the High Table.

Luke took a glimpse as well. He immediately realized what was wrong. Quirell wasn't there. But why was Draco concerned? Was it possible that he knew?

 _Don't be silly_ , Luke thought to himself. _He always thought Quirell looked suspicious. That must be it._

But where was Quirell? What was he up to?

Just when he made that thought, the Defense professor ran into the Great Hall with an expression of absolute horror on his face. Draco paled next to him as the man approached the High Table.

"Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know," he said before he fainted.

* * *

A/N:

Someone asked about Nico being the Ghost King. Well... No one said there had to be only _one_ Ghost King, right? ;)

Anyway, next chapter we'll have a first small confrontation between our heroes and Voldemort. Stay tuned!


	5. Fluffy

Chapter 5: Fluffy

Draco felt the panic swell in his chest as he followed the prefect. He had been expecting something to happen all day, as Quirell had said that he had planned a spectacular diversion to happen by Halloween. He hadn't expected a troll, though.

What was he supposed to do now? Should he tell a teacher that Quirell would try to steal the Philosopher's Stone that they were hiding in the forbidden corridor? Nobody would believe him. And he would get in so much trouble… But he couldn't just do nothing. He had done his research. If the Dark Lord got his hands on the Stone…

He clenched his fists. He had to act.

He carefully glanced around. If he could just fall behind a little, he might be able to leave the mass of students undetected. The only problem was Luke. If he saw him, he would want to come along… He had to be careful.

He slowed down a bit, letting the other students pass by him. At first, it looked like Luke didn't notice as he continued walking like before. But then Luke suddenly turned to where Draco had been – probably to tell him to go hunt down the troll themselves – and noticed that Draco wasn't there anymore. Draco tried to hide behind a tall student, but it was too late. Luke had already spotted him and was now slowing down as well.

"You were going to hunt down the troll without me?" he said to Draco once he caught up with him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Draco with the best sneer he could manage. "Unlike you, I don't have a death wish."

"Oh, but you are up to something, that's for sure," said Luke with a knowing smile.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. I'm an expert in breaking the rules and that's exactly what you're trying to do. And I'm coming with you."

"I don't want you to come with me!"

"Did I ask for your permission?"

Draco gritted his teeth.

"Fine," he hissed. "But we cannot be seen. So, unless you can become invisible-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Luke had already taken out a baseball cap from his pocket and he put it on. Immediately, he disappeared. It was a good thing they had fallen enough behind, or someone would have noticed.

"What?" exclaimed Draco. "How did you- Where did you get that?"

"I stole it from a girl in camp," said the empty air beside him.

Draco groaned. "Is there anything you own that you haven't stolen from someone else?"

"Hmm… Good question."

Draco sighed. He didn't have time for this.

"Fine. Just follow me."

He pressed the button on his watch and disappeared as well, leaving behind only a thick black shadow.

Luke gasped. "Awesome! Can you pass through walls, too?"

"Yes. And now shut up and let's go."

The shadow started moving and Luke followed. They went up three flights of stairs and crossed a few corridors before Luke understood where they were going.

"We're going to the forbidden corridor, aren't we?" he asked excitedly.

Draco didn't answer. He just kept walking. They finally reached the door behind which lay the forbidden corridor.

"Why did we stop?" asked Luke. "Aren't we going in?"

"No, _I_ am going in. You'll stay right here."

"Why?"

"Because the door is probably locked and you can't get in."

Luke scoffed. _"Anixe!"_ he said loud and clear.

Draco heard a click coming from the lock.

"No way."

"Yes way." Draco could swear Luke was smirking. "And now let's see what's inside."

"No!" said Draco firmly and the doorknob that had started to turn – seemingly by itself – stopped moving.

"Why? I thought you wanted to go in."

"By myself! What if there's something dangerous in there? I'm just a shadow, nothing can hurt me. I can go in, see what's inside and come back out to tell you if it's safe."

There were a few seconds of silence, as Luke obviously struggled to make a responsible decision.

"Fine," he grumbled finally. "Go on."

Luke watched as the shadow passed right through the door. A minute later, it emerged again.

"There's a cute three-headed dog in there!" he heard Draco's excited voice.

 _Well_ , Luke thought. _That's got to be among the 'Ten top things a son of Hades would definitely say at least once'._

"And his name is Fluffy!" continued Draco.

 _Okay, I didn't see that one coming._ Luke smothered a chuckle.

But suddenly they froze. There were hurried footsteps coming from a corridor nearby.

Draco held his breath. Suddenly, he realized he had no plan to deal with Quirell. What if he actually showed up? What would he do to stop him from entering the corridor?

The footsteps turned around the corner and Quirell appeared. He was walking hurriedly, looking around to make sure no one was close.

"Now what?" breathed Luke.

 _Good question_ , Draco wanted to answer.

"We need to slow him down."

"Okay," said Luke simply. " _Maia._ "

Suddenly, there was a sound like flapping wings and Draco heard Luke whoosh through the air and collide with Quirell.

The man fell on the floor, surprised and confused. "What the-"

"There's someone invisible here," said Voldemort's raspy voice, a bit muffled from the turban. "Catch them!"

Quirell grabbed at the empty air. His hand twitched, like the empty air was trying to escape his grip, but Quirell's hold was strong.

Draco panicked. If the cap fell off or if Quirell decided to just kill whoever was trying to tamper with his plans…

But what could he do? He didn't know enough magic yet to fight Quirell – much less the Dark Lord – and, even if he did, he would have to materialize to use it and Voldemort would see him.

He needed help but there was no one nearby… Except…

Draco ran – or rather slid quickly – towards the door that led to the forbidden corridor. He glanced behind him once, to make sure Quirell's attention was elsewhere, and then he pushed the button on his watch. He materialized for only a second or two, just enough for him to turn the doorknob, and then he pressed the button again.

 _Fluffy!_ he called with his mind. _I need your help!_

 _Yes, Master!_

The huge three-headed dog pushed the door open, which hit the stone wall with a _bang!_ , and ran out to the corridor. Without wasting a second, the beast charged at the professor, who let go off Luke to defend himself. Fluffy dodged the spells Quirell shot him and continued trying to approach him.

"Good thinking," he heard Luke's voice from beside him five seconds later.

"Wish I could say the same about you!" hissed Draco. "What were you thinking?"

Before Luke could answer, they heard a cry of pain. They turned and saw that Quirell's arm was bleeding heavily from deep bite marks. The man realized he had no choice but to flee before Fluffy could eat him whole.

Once he disappeared behind the corner, the gigantic dog stopped growling and turned all three heads towards Draco, looking at the black shadow expectantly, like he wanted praise.

"Good boy," said Draco, thinking about becoming visible again so that he would be able to pet the cute little beast. But then, they heard footsteps again, approaching them.

A second later, they saw Snape turning around the corner, walking with purpose and looking quite intimidating. But he suddenly froze, as he noticed Fluffy standing in the middle of the corridor, with his middle snout bloodstained and his tail swinging casually from side to side. The look on the professor's face was priceless. The dog tilted his three heads, as if wondering why that man was staring at him.

Probably realizing that the beast wasn't going to attack him, the man warily walked past Fluffy towards the door that led to the forbidden corridor, which was left ajar. He peeked inside, making sure no one had managed to get in, and then he turned back to the dog.

"You kept him away?" he said quietly.

 _Nod_ , instructed Draco.

All three heads moved up and down in unison. Snape looked slightly amused.

"Good job," he said. "Now, are you going to get back inside?"

The dog made a whiny little sound.

 _You need to guard that stone, Fluffy_ , said Draco to the dog. _No one can do it better than you._

Fluffy straightened proudly. With a small growl that might have been a doggish sigh, he went back to the forbidden corridor. Snape then closed the door behind him and locked it with his wand. He shook his head, like he still couldn't believe what had just happened, and then he walked away.

Draco finally released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Well, that was weird," said Luke, taking off his cap and becoming visible again.

"That's an understatement," Draco muttered as he pressed the button on his watch.

"Why do you think Snape came?"

He shrugged. "Maybe he realized as well that the troll was a diversion and came to make sure that no one would go for the stone."

"The stone?"

Draco cursed silently. He shouldn't have let that slip.

"What's hidden in there?"

"I'll tell you some other time," said Draco evasively.

"Okay. Will you at least tell me how you knew Quirell would want to steal it?"

"I overheard him talk once," said Draco, not going into detail.

"With Voldemort?"

Draco stared at him, stunned. "How do you know about that?"

Luke smirked. He put his hand in his left pocket and took out a piece of parchment. _"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."_

Draco watched as a map started to appear on the parchment. There was no doubt that this was a map of Hogwarts. But the most impressive thing about it was the dots that were moving around.

Luke pointed at one dot. Draco looked at the names above it.

"Tom Riddle?" he asked, confused.

"That was his name before he became Lord Voldemort," said Luke. "The Sorting Hat told me."

"Where did you get this?"

"I stole it from the Weasley twins. I had heard they had means to get out of the castle, so I followed them a few times invisibly and I saw them use this. A few weeks ago, I sneaked into their dormitory and stole it."

"How did you even get in the Gryffindor common room?"

"The same way I opened the door to the forbidden corridor."

Draco rolled his eyes, exasperated. " _How_ did you open the door to the forbidden corridor?"

Luke grinned. "That is a conversation for another time. The real question here is – why are you trying to stop Voldemort?"

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Draco snapped.

"Well, it doesn't make much sense," Luke continued, unfazed. "Your father was a Death-Eater. Shouldn't you be rooting for him?"

"What I should or shouldn't do doesn't concern _you_!"

"Of course it does. You're my friend."

Draco scoffed. "Really? Because it seems to me that you're just pretending to be! Or do you really enjoy it when I call Granger a Mudblood?"

Luke blinked, caught off guard. "Well, I don't _enjoy_ it-"

"You hate it! I can see you flinching every time I use the word. Just admit it! You think I'm a jerk."

"I-"

"Don't." Draco whipped around and walked away. Luke was left to stare at his back, completely gobsmacked, so he didn't see the red-haired girl behind him, watching them with a sly smile on her face.

* * *

The following days, Draco didn't say a single word to Luke. The blond boy tried to talk to him many times, but eventually he realized it was futile.

Draco hadn't thought that he would miss his former friend this much, but there it was. However, he was too angry and hurt to continue being friends with him.

He wasn't exactly sure what had made him say what he said at that moment. It was like there was a soft voice whispering in his ear, nudging him on. That's not to say he hadn't suspected that Luke might only be pretending to be his friend before. But when he saw the expression on the boy's face when he confronted him about it… That was when he knew he had been right. It felt like a blow to the stomach.

But, if Luke didn't really like him, then why did he pretend he did? Why put up with the blood-purist bigot if it wasn't agreeable with him? What did he really want from Draco?

Those questions kept swirling in his mind – among others. Like, why wasn't Quirell thrown out of the school?

Apparently, Snape suspected something. That was why he had rushed to the forbidden corridor when the diversion took place. He had come to check whether the stone had been stolen. So, if he already knew, why didn't he say anything? It couldn't be because he was loyal to the Dark Lord. If he was, he wouldn't have been relieved when he realized Fluffy had stopped Quirell from stealing the stone.

One possible answer was that he didn't have concrete proof. It would just be his word against Quirell's. Fluffy, of course, couldn't be considered a witness. So, Quirell continued teaching at Hogwarts and, to Draco's disappointment, with his arm completely healed.

Another thing that had been troubling him those days was the fact that his fellow Slytherins had been acting very strangely around him lately. Some of them looked awed by him, others scared. This bothered him more than it normally would, as he was currently looking for people to talk with now that he didn't have Luke.

One day, he decided to eavesdrop on them after turning invisible. What he found out left him speechless.

Apparently, everybody thought that his _devious plan_ concerning Granger had been to let the troll in the castle and have her killed. They thought that he had been hanging out with her sometimes so that he wouldn't attract suspicion. The fact that he hadn't returned with the others to the dormitory the night of the attack until much later seemed to work as proof for them.

At first, Draco felt appalled that they would think such things of him and a little wary that a professor might hear of this rumor. But then he thought that no adult in their right mind would believe an eleven-year-old would manage to bring a mountain troll inside Hogwarts. Also, this rumor worked in his favor. With people thinking such disturbing things about him, no one would suspect that he had been the one to delay Voldemort's plans.

And he had to admit that he found the whole thing a bit amusing. He never denied or admitted anything, but whenever someone in his house annoyed him, he would make some offhanded comment about trolls attacking them when they were alone in the loo. A few times Luke would hear and they would share a knowing smile before Draco remembered that he wasn't speaking with him.

But the problem remained that he was quite lonely. His only company seemed to be Morty, but Draco was getting tired of telling the dog that he really shouldn't eat Luke or the other Slytherins who annoyed him. Luke would sometimes hang out with Granger and her two new friends, Potter and Weasley, who had saved her life on Halloween. However, Draco's options were a lot more limited. No matter what, he couldn't be seen with anyone who wasn't a pureblood Slytherin – at least until Quirell/Voldemort was out of there.

The day before the first Quidditch match of the season, Draco visited the library. The last few days he visited the library more and more – and not only in the middle of the night. He was trying to find out as much as he could about the Philosopher's stone, and what he learned so far was quite disturbing. He knew Voldemort could never lay hand on it, or all was lost.

Another reason he liked to visit the library was because Luke never set foot in it. Thanks to his dyslexia, he was excused from all essay-writing and from written exams. Instead, he would answer questions at the beginning of every lesson and his exams would be oral. So, he had no reason – and of course no desire – to spend any time in the library, which worked just fine for Draco.

Unfortunately, Granger spent a great deal of time in the library, and that day was no exception. She was sitting at a table not far from him, with her head buried in books. Every once in a while, he would catch her glancing towards him, but she would immediately avert her eyes. In the end, she picked up her books and returned them to their shelves.

Draco's relief turned to frustration and wariness as he saw her making her way towards him.

"Hello, Draco," she said a little nervously, as she sat down opposite him.

"What do you want, Granger?"

She bit her lip, a little fazed by his hostility. "I just wanted to ask you if you were alright."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I know you're not speaking with Luke anymore. And almost every time I see you, you're on your own. So I figured-"

"What? That I was _feeling lonely_?" sneered Draco. "Even if I was, a Mudblood would be the last person I would want for company."

She stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Believe what?"

"This whole thing about blood-purity."

Draco rolled his eyes. "What do you think, Granger?"

She pursed her lips. "I thought that you'd be smarter than that. That, yes, maybe you were brainwashed, but at some point you would start questioning your beliefs, maybe look for proof to back them. I thought-" She took a breath and when she exhaled her expression was colder. "Well, I guess I thought wrong."

" _Very_ wrong," replied Draco in an even colder voice.

"Then I'm sorry for disturbing you," she said through clenched teeth. She cast one final glare at him as she was standing up and then she stormed off.

Draco sighed, but had more important things to worry about than offending Hermione Granger.

An hour later, he found another mention to the Philosopher's Stone. It said pretty much the same things that he read elsewhere. He couldn't deny it anymore. If the Dark Lord got his hands on the stone, he'd be back for good. And now Draco had to make a decision.

But he needed a little more information to make it.

* * *

"Dobby," Draco said quietly.

 _Crack!_

His family's house elf appeared at the empty bathroom where Draco was hiding. Only the ghost of a whimpering girl was present, but she wouldn't talk. Apparently, no dead people dared to disobey the Ghost King – whatever _that_ meant. Not to mention that she seemed to fancy him a bit.

"Has young Master asked for Dobby, sir?" said the small creature, looking a bit jittery.

"Would you be here if I hadn't?" said Draco in an impatient voice.

The house elf cringed. "What does young Master want Dobby to do for him?"

"I want you to answer a few questions of mine," said Draco firmly. "And I want you to tell me the truth, even if you think it's offensive to your Masters."

Dobby whimpered a little, as he understood that there was no way he wouldn't need to punish himself. If he disobeyed, he would punish himself. If he obeyed and offended the Malfoys, he would punish himself.

"Now tell me," Draco went on relentlessly. "You were serving the Malfoys while the Dark Lord was around, right?

Dobby nodded, making his ears flap. "Yes, sir."

"Now I need you to answer the following question honestly." Draco took a deep breath. "How was life in the Manor back then?"

The house-elf whimpered again. "It was terrible!" he cried out, as if in spite of himself. "Master Lucius would kill and torture so many people! And poor Mistress Cissy would hide in her room to not hear the screams, but Dobby couldn't, sir, because Dobby had to clean up the mess!"

Draco stared at the house elf in horror. He knew he wouldn't like the answer, but still. He had never experienced war and hearing about it from someone who had seen it was horrifying.

He was snapped out of his shock when he saw Dobby starting to run against a tiled wall. "Stop!" he shouted. Dobby halted midway. "Calm down, Dobby."

The elf took a shaky breath and stilled.

"Good. Now please be quiet. I need to think."

He started pacing back and forth, rubbing his temples. He couldn't let that happen again. People getting killed, tortured or who knew what else inside his own house? No, no way.

He stopped pacing and straightened his body. "I have to stop him," he said with a sure voice. It was like he was always supposed to reach that decision, and now that he made it, he felt calmer. He looked at Dobby steadily. "I have to stop Voldemort." He noticed absently that this was the first time he'd used the Dark Lord's name.

Dobby's huge eyes bulged. "Vol- Young Master wants to-?"

Draco nodded.

Dobby stared at the boy, trying to swallow what he had just heard.

"Does young Master need Dobby's help?" he said timidly, but his big green eyes were alight.

"No. It would bring you trouble with my father. I'll have to do it by myself."

The elf's eyes filled with tears. "Young Master doesn't want Dobby to get in trouble?"

Draco's brow furrowed. "Well, if father finds out about my involvement in this, he will probably disown me. But if he finds out that _you_ had a part in this…"

He didn't need to finish the sentence. The horror in the creature's eyes told him that he understood what he meant.

"Now go back to the manor before anyone notices your absence."

Dobby nodded. "Good luck, sir," he said with a voice that shook with emotion.

"Thanks. I'll need it."

The house elf bowed with real respect before he disaparrated.

* * *

"He's going to fall!" Ron yelled.

Luke couldn't argue with that. There was no way Harry would manage to stay on his broom for long the way it was jerking abruptly to all directions.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" a blond Gryffindor asked.

"Can't have," said the huge gamekeeper, whose name was Hagrid. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

Luke suddenly grabbed Hagrid's binoculars and looked at the stands. He spotted Snape, who was muttering under his breath, while watching Harry intently. Then he pointed the binoculars towards Quirell. He was also muttering, barely moving his lips, and his eyes didn't leave Harry for a second.

"It's Quirell," said Luke.

"What?" exclaimed Ron and grabbed the binoculars as well. "Bloody hell, he's right! What do we do?"

"I'll take care of it," said Hermione and took off before they could argue.

Luke then used the binoculars to look for Draco at the stands. Had he caught on to Quirell as well?

He saw that the other Slytherin first years were seated not far from the teachers. He spotted Nott, Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle and, a little further away, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Draphne Greengrass. But where was Draco?

Hermione was on her way back – after having successfully set Quirell's robes on fire – when Luke realized Draco wasn't anywhere. That wouldn't normally worry him. After all, he knew he didn't care much about Quidditch. But today…

"I'll be back," he said hastily to the others and pushed through the crowd. Once he was away from the stands, he took out the Marauder's Map. His eyes scanned the parchment, looking for the _dragon_. He spotted him… in the forbidden corridor.

" _Maia!"_ yelled Luke after he put on his cap. Little wings appeared on his sneakers and he shot forward, flying back to the castle as quickly as he could.

* * *

"So you don't know what else is guarding the stone?" asked Draco.

Fluffy shook his heads. _No idea_.

He sighed. "Alright. I just hope I can pass through the protections with my watch."

Three tongues licked Draco's face affectionately. "Thank you," he muttered, wiping his wet face with his sleeve, and he approached the trapdoor.

At that instant, the door to the corridor flew open. Draco whirled around and he saw… no one. He frowned before he realized…

"What are you doing here?" he said to no one, frustrated.

"What are _you_ doing here?" The air shimmered and Luke appeared in front of him, holding his baseball cap.

"I'm playing fetch with Fluffy," said Draco sarcastically. "What do _you_ think I'm doing?"

"I think you're trying to steal whatever's hidden here, so that you can hide it somewhere Voldemort won't be able to find."

"Congratulations. You won a chocolate frog. Now piss off."

Luke folded his arms. "I don't think so."

Draco made an impatient sound. "I don't have time for this, Luke! Just tell me what you want and go. I've got a job to do."

"And I want to help you."

"Well, I don't want your help!"

"I didn't ask you. I'm coming and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I can punch you in the face."

Luke scoffed. "Good luck with that. I've been combat training since I was six."

Draco blinked. "You what?"

He shook his head. "I'll explain some other time. Like you said, we don't have time for this."

Draco was really tempted to punch him. But he suspected Luke had told him the truth. He really did have more muscle than most boys his age.

"Fine," he spat. "But if I see you're slowing me down, I'm not waiting for you."

Luke grinned before opening the trapdoor.

* * *

A/N:

 _Anixe (_ _Άνοιξε)_ means 'open' in Greek. I just thought I'd give the son of the god of thieves some cool ability ;)

So, I hoped you liked this chapter!

Also, thank you to the lovely people who reviewed!


	6. Make a wish

Chapter 6: Make a wish

They looked down.

"No ladder," said Luke.

"I think we're supposed to jump."

Luke gave him a sly smile. _"Maia,"_ he said. Draco watched him speechless, as he hovered a few feet above the ground.

"So, I suppose I'm going down to make sure that it's safe to jump and then come and tell you?" said Luke, enjoying Draco's surprise.

The black-haired boy just grunted.

Luke flied down the hole while Draco waited. A minute later, he was back.

"So, the good news is that there's some kind of plant to cushion your fall," he said airily.

Draco arched an eyebrow. "And the bad news?"

"That plant will probably try to kill you."

"Brilliant."

"Hey, you have your watch. You can jump down, let the plant break your fall and then turn to a shadow. Piece of cake."

He had to admit, it was a good plan.

So he took a deep breath and jumped.

He was relieved when he landed smoothly on the plant without breaking anything. But then the plant's tendrils started coiling around his ankles, so he hastily pressed the button on his watch and became immaterial.

He glided towards the door at the other end of the room, while Luke flew above him. Tendrils stretched toward the blond boy, but he made sure he was out of their reach.

When Draco reached the door, he suddenly felt like he was being pushed backwards by strong winds.

"What the-"

"What's wrong?" asked Luke, who was now flying right above him.

"I- can't- reach- the- door!" Draco managed to say, while trying to fight the winds and approach the door. It was impossible.

"Hmm…" Luke looked thoughtful. "There must be wards that detect sentient beings without mass and prevent them to go through the doors."

"What? Why?"

"Well, if someone could become immaterial, it would render all the other protections useless, wouldn't it?"

Draco couldn't argue with that logic. He was a bit surprised though by how easily Luke had figured that out. Maybe thieves had some kind of intuition about these things.

So now Draco had to materialize again. He pushed the button and, without wasting a second, in fear that the plant might decide to attack him immediately, he opened the door. Both boys went through it hastily and closed it behind them, barely escaping the tendrils. They sighed with relief and then started walking down the stone passageway that lay ahead.

Draco felt a bit heartened for some reason. Underground places made him feel like home.

Finally, they reached a room with a very high ceiling. And flying under it…

"Keys!" exclaimed Draco. "Are we… supposed to catch them?"

"It seems like it," said Luke, pointing at some broomsticks laying on the floor.

"I'm not flying!"

"You don't have to," said Luke reassuringly and made his way to the door at the other side of the chamber. _"Anixe!"_ he said confidently.

Nothing happened.

"Great," said Draco and then pointed at the broomsticks. "Well, since you insisted to come and help me, here's your chance to prove useful."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. _"Maia!"_

He flew around the room, looking for a likely candidate. He zigzagged and swooped, chasing around keys. Draco had to admit that he was a really good flier. He would make an excellent Seeker.

"Found it!" yelled Luke, holding a big silver key.

The next room was a bit scarier than the flying keys. There were tall chessmen towering over them, looking very menacing.

"Um… You don't think we have to play, do you?" asked Luke, for the first time looking a little nervous.

"What if we tried to pass between them?"

The two boys passed by the black chessmen without issue. But when they tried to approach the white ones, they immediately drew swords, ready to attack them.

"Okay, play it is," said Draco, gulping.

"I don't know," said Luke skeptically. "I like my chances in a sword fight better."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Let's just give it a go. If we lose, knock yourself out."

Luke agreed reluctantly. He took the place of the black knight. Draco became a bishop.

The game started. Draco called the shots, of course, as Luke didn't have the attention span for it. It was already hard for him to remain inside his square.

However, Draco was not a talented chess player, either. He positioned himself and Luke at some protected part of the chessboard, as he didn't want to risk them being taken by the opponent. But he lost many of their other pawns. And their king was constantly under threat. He barely saved him a couple of times, until…

He watched, frozen, as the black king threw his crown towards the white queen. They lost. Now all the pieces on the chessboard turned toward the two boys, weapons drawn.

"Now what?" he said hoarsely.

Luke put his hand in his pocket and took out one of those things Muggles used to write.

"I don't think they want an autograph," said Draco, trying to remain calm.

Luke smirked. He uncapped the item, which turned into a sword.

"Where did you get _that_?" asked Draco, even though he suspected the answer.

"I stole it from Chiron."

"Of course you did."

Draco dived to the floor, avoiding at the last moment a sword, swung by the black king. Luke charged, swiftly disarming the king and driving his bronze sword through the chessman, who crumbled to the floor.

Draco watched the other boy taking on a bishop and a knight at the same time with his mouth open. Luke was amazing with a sword.

But he realized the chessmen were too many. There was no way he would be able to hold them off on his own.

Draco bit his lip. He could turn into a shadow and cross the room safely. He would only need to materialize to open the door. _He_ could make it out of there. But Luke…

He groaned loudly and pressed the button on his watch.

"How can I help you?" he yelled at Luke, safe for now.

"Did your mother give you anything else apart from the watch before you came to Hogwarts?" said the other boy panting, as he beheaded a pawn.

"My ring and the Hand of Glory."

"The hand of what?" Before Draco could answer, he went on. "Forget about that. It's probably the ring we need, anyway."

Draco materialized away from most of the chessmen and pulled off his ring. It was silver and had a big skull engraved on the front. There was one word carved on the inside of the ring in a foreign language he could somehow read without problem. It read _Skotos_ , which his mind translated as _Darkness._

"What do I do with it?"

"Press the skull like a button. That should work. Ah!" One pawn had managed to give Luke a long – but fortunately shallow – cut on his arm. It must have hurt, because his movements were now slightly less as swift. And with so many enemies, even a small disadvantage could prove catastrophic.

Draco pushed the skull on his ring, feeling a little foolish. He blinked as he saw the ring becoming bigger. It grew long from one side and, before he knew it, he was holding a sword as well. The blade, however, was black and not bronze. The black leather handle right under the blade was wrapped with a silver ring, on the front of which was engraved a big silver skull – a bigger version of the one on his ring.

For some reason, holding that sword felt right, like he had always been destined to wield it. He could only compare the feeling with the one he got when he held his wand for the first time at Ollivander's.

Suddenly, a knight charged at him. His reflexes took over. He sidestepped, allowing the chessman to pass by him. The knight stopped running but, before it could turn around, Draco drove the sword through its back and it fell apart.

Before he had time to raise his sword again, a bishop lunged at him, ready to slash him. Draco barely had time to press the button on his watch. The bishop's sword passed right through him. The second it was out of his shadow, he materialized again and slashed at the bishop's arm, cutting it off. The arm fell on the floor, still holding the sword.

Draco then attacked a castle and a queen. He didn't even pause to think if it was wise to take on two opponents at the same time. He felt right at his element and there was no stopping him now.

He sobered a little when the queen struck him with the hilt of her sword at the middle of his chest. He felt the air being knocked out of his lungs and he was almost stabbed by her in this moment when he was vulnerable, but he managed to turn into a shadow just in time.

When both the queen and the castle had been neutralized – thanks to both his newfound talent at sword fighting _and_ his watch – he turned his attention to Luke.

At the moment, he was fighting three pawns at the same time, cornered to a wall. He was still astonishingly good, even with his sword-arm injured, but he was getting tired. He needed his help.

Draco crossed the room as a shadow and then materialized right behind the pawns. He promptly drove his sword through one and disarmed another, while Luke took care of the last one.

"Thanks," he panted.

There weren't many chessmen left. The two boys fought together, somehow managing to coordinate their movements in the best way possible. It was like they were always meant to fight alongside each other.

The last chessman standing was the white king. The two boys charged at him at the same time. But now they were both really tired, so their attack wasn't that successful. The king's sword clashed with the bottom of Luke's blade. The king twisted his sword and Luke's fell on the floor with a _clang_. Then the king stepped back and avoided Draco's sword. Because of the momentum with which he attacked, the boy lost his balance. He didn't try to remain on his feet. Instead, he fell on the floor, barely managing to dodge the king's blade.

The chess-piece swung his sword, ready to struck Draco who was too exhausted to stand back on his feet, but suddenly froze as a bronze blade penetrated its chest. The last chessman crumbled, leaving Luke standing behind him, holding his sword and panting heavily.

"Thanks," said Draco dryly.

Luke grinned. "Don't mention it."

The two boys sat on the floor for a few minutes to catch their breaths.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Draco.

"At camp." Luke shrugged. "Though I was also a natural like you."

Draco shook his head, still unable to believe this newfound talent. "I didn't know I could fight like that."

"Most of us didn't, until we had to."

"Us?"

Luke sighed. "I'll tell you-"

"Some other time," Draco finished. "You say that a lot."

"I know. There's lots of things I have to tell you and now really's not the time. However," he said and arched an eyebrow. "It is the perfect time for a different question. What exactly are we trying to steal?"

Draco bit his lip, uncertain. But then again, he couldn't just expect Luke to risk his life without knowing what for. "The Philosopher's Stone."

"Which is?"

"It's something you can use to become rich _and_ immortal."

Luke's eyes widened. "Seriously? Then why didn't we try to steal this sooner?"

"We're not going to keep the stone! And definitely not use it!"

"Are you crazy? We're going to get our hands on something that can make you rich and immortal and we're not going to use it?"

"If we use it, then Voldemort will know we were the ones who stole it! And then he'll come after us! No, this thing cannot fall in the wrong hands. It needs to be hidden or, better yet, destroyed!"

Luke blinked. "That sounded very heroic."

Draco glared at him, like he had just offended him.

"I didn't thank you," said Luke.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I mean for staying. You could have used the watch and left the room. You had warned me that, if I slowed you down, you wouldn't wait for me, but you did. Thank you."

"Just forget about it."

Luke grinned. "Alright. Then let's go face the next extremely dangerous challenge."

They stood up reluctantly and then opened the door to the next room.

At once, they were assaulted by the most horrible smell. Then they saw the huge creature inside, which was holding a club.

"A mountain troll," said Draco in a muffled voice, as he had his hand over his nose and mouth to keep the stench out.

The troll bellowed and started moving towards them.

Luke raised his sword with one hand, while the other held his nose. "My training never prepared me for this," he muttered, his eyes watering.

They both dove in different directions as the troll lunged at them. Luke managed to roll and stand on his feet in seconds, while Draco landed unceremoniously, face-first. "Ow," he said and pressed the button on his watch as the troll swung its club at him. The club passed right through him, which really confused the troll for a few seconds. This gave Luke the opportunity to stab the troll between its shoulder-blades.

The troll yelled in pain. Thick blood ran from the wound, painting abstract red shapes on the floor as it staggered. Finally, it collapsed to the ground and it didn't move again.

"That was easy," said Luke airily.

Draco grunted as he materialized and the pain on his face together with the horrible smell returned.

They moved on to the next room warily, fearing what may lie there. All they found was a table with bottles. Though the purple and black fire that now appeared at the two doorways was pretty dramatic.

They approached the table and Draco started reading the roll of parchment to Luke.

"A puzzle?" asked Luke, looking disgusted.

"Apparently."

"Well, good luck solving it."

Draco glared at him, but he had to admit that it made sense that he would solve it. Luke couldn't even read the instructions.

It took him about an hour.

"Alright," he said at last, rubbing his temple which was now throbbing. "I think I've got it."

"You _think_? If I remember correctly, there's poison in some of them."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Then I guess we use only one of them. If one of us dies, then we can be certain that I got it wrong."

"So, one of us goes to the last room or dies and the other waits here?"

Draco nodded.

"Okay," said Luke and straightened. "Then I'll-"

He stopped. Suddenly, the Sorting Hat's words came back to him.

" _You want to be the one who saves the world."_

" _That's why you wish to see him fail…"_

He swallowed. It had to be Draco. _He_ was the one the Great Prophecy talked about. Luke was supposed to make sure Draco became the hero he was destined to be.

And he couldn't doubt anymore that Draco was the hero. He had no reason to risk his life to stop Voldemort, as he was a pureblood and the son of one of his supporters. And yet, here he was. And also, between the two of them, it was Luke who had wanted to use the stone to become rich and powerful, not Draco.

And, as for his acting like a total jerk, the Oracle had provided the answer for this as well in the prophecy it gave him for his quest.

 **" _A misled haflblood, lost and confused/ Under a tyrant's rein, scorned and abused…"_**

He should have realized earlier what it meant. But, when he had first heard these two lines, his mind had created the image of a scared and bullied little boy, not an arrogant bigot. But, after the incident with Quirell and Fluffy, he realized that it worked for Draco as well. And the key-phrase – _under a tyrant's rein._

Draco was acting the way he was because he was scared that, if he didn't, the _tyrant_ would punish him. That was why he would sometimes engage in friendly banter with Granger and then come to his senses and call her a Mudblood. He didn't want to do it. He had to.

All Draco needed to become who he was destined to be was someone to show him how. And that was what Luke had to do.

"You should go," he said to Draco.

He blinked. "What? I thought that-"

"I think you have a better chance to get it."

"Me? But you- With the chessmen- And with the troll-"

Luke shook his head. "I don't think my swordsman skills will help me get the stone. I think the last challenge is going to test… something else. You can do it, Draco. I believe in you."

Draco was speechless.

"Go, Draco," he said. "I'll wait here."

Draco didn't look very sure, but he nodded. He took the smallest bottle and drank the potion inside it. He shivered.

"You okay?" asked Luke. "It isn't poison, is it?"

"One way to find out," said Draco and, after taking a deep breath, he walked through the black flames and vanished.

Luke sat on the floor, waiting. Suddenly, he started having doubts.

Had it been wise to let Draco go alone? What if there was something really dangerous in there – even more dangerous than the troll? Did he just send him to his death?

He paled. Chiron wouldn't be pleased with him.

But, before five minutes passed, both the black and the purple flames disappeared. Immediately, Luke was on his feet and walked in the last room. He gasped.

Draco was standing there, holding a red stone. But that was not what made him gasp. It was the mirror in the middle of the room.

"The Mirror of Erised?" he breathed. "This is the final protection?"

Draco looked up, smiling. "I just saw myself holding the stone and putting it in my pocket… And when I put my hand in my pocket, it was there!"

Luke just stared at him. He finally understood why Dumbledore had chosen the mirror to protect the stone. Because it could see what you desired. And if it saw that your desires were selfish, then it wouldn't give you the stone.

Suddenly, he felt really glad he had let Draco take the stone.

"So, now what?" he asked.

Draco grinned. "Now we hide it."

* * *

It wasn't hard to get back to the forbidden corridor. After Draco took the stone from the mirror, the remaining protections disappeared. The only problem was that Draco had to use one of the brooms from the room with the flying keys to go up the trapdoor. It must have been the fact that they were underground that helped him not to completely freak out and make it to the corridor.

After they greeted Fluffy and promised him they would come back and play one of these days, they turned invisible and left to go to the seventh floor.

Draco was very cryptic about what he was planning to do there. Which, of course, made Luke all the more excited.

 _It must be something really cool,_ he mused.

They finally reached a dead end – just an empty wall opposite a tapestry with a wizard and trolls wearing tutus. Of course, that didn't worry Luke. They were in a magic school, after all. Blank walls could hide many interesting secrets.

Draco's shadow started pacing back and forth in front of it. Luke opened his mouth to ask if he had made a mistake or something, but then a door appeared on the wall.

Luke opened it and went inside. He was left speechless.

The place was huge and it was full of tall piles of junk that almost reached the high ceiling. There were small alleyways in between to allow people to walk among the piles.

Draco materialized beside him. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement," he said with a grin.

Luke took off his cup as well. "The Room of Requirement? Does that mean what I think it means?"

His grin widened. "It can transform to pretty much anything you want." Luke opened his mouth to say something, but Draco interrupted him. "And, before you ask, no, you can't take stuff created by the room outside. So, if you ask it to be filled with treasure, it would make you rich only inside these walls."

Luke's face fell. He opened his mouth again but Draco interrupted him once more. "And, no, no food."

Luke scoffed. "So, how is this place useful, again?"

"It's very useful, Luke. Because here, we can hide the stone."

"Hmm…" said Luke, unimpressed.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Come on, Luke."

As they walked down one alleyway, Luke broke the silence again.

"I can think of _one_ use for the room."

"Really?" said Draco without really paying attention, as he had just gotten that same unsettling feeling he got whenever he was close to Potter.

"I mean, you are pretty good with a sword," Luke went on. "But you could become even better with practice."

That got Draco's attention. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, we could use this room."

He frowned. "To… practice sword-fighting?"

Luke shrugged. "It'd be fun, wouldn't it?"

"Well, _yeah_ ," said Draco smiling and his eyes lit up.

Luke grinned. "Good. I was actually a bit nervous you'd say that this was against the rules or whatever." He shook his head disgustedly.

"Did you mistake me for Granger?" laughed Draco. "Besides, we just stole an e _xtremely_ valuable stone from a very forbidden corridor, after having passed some _ridiculously_ dangerous obstacles – and all the while one of us had no training whatsoever. I think deciding to practice with swords is the most sensible thing we've done all day."

"True that," said Luke, grinning broadly. "Anyway, how did you know about this place?"

"My mum told me about it. She had come across it while she was a student here and used it from time to time when she wanted to be alone. She thought that I might need it, too."

"Smart woman."

Draco finally spotted the thing that caused that feeling of _wrongness_ in his gut. He looked at the ugly bust of a man with a wig and a tiara with suspicion.

"What?" asked Luke.

"I get that weird feeling again."

Luke groaned. "This is getting old."

"Well, I was right about Quirell, wasn't I?" snapped Draco.

"Maybe," admitted Luke reluctantly. "But I don't see Voldemort at the back of the head of Mr. Ugly-face here."

Draco made a face at him. "It's not ugly-face. It's the diadem."

"The what?"

"The tiara thing."

"This old thing?" Luke took it in his hands. "Doesn't seem special, does it?"

"Neither did Quirell."

"So, what do you want to do with it?"

Draco shrugged. "Let's just leave it where it is. We'll hide the stone here, so that I will be able to find it again."

He lifted the bust and passed it to Luke. He opened the crate under it and put the stone inside. Then he closed it and placed the bust on it.

"Let's get going," he said after Luke put the diadem on the wig. "People will be wondering where we are."

Luke nodded, but didn't move just yet. He looked like he wanted to say something but he was nervous.

"Something wrong?" asked Draco.

"No, I-" He sighed. "I just wanted to tell you that… You were right. I _did_ think you were a jerk."

Draco felt like he had just been punched. "Well, at least now you got it out off your chest," he said coldly and started to leave.

"Wait," said Luke, grabbing Draco's wrist to stop him. Draco yanked his hand free, but didn't go. He folded his arms at his chest and glared at Luke coldly, daring him to continue. Luke drew a deep breath. "I said I _thought_. I don't think so anymore."

"How come?" said Draco, his voice full of sarcasm.

"Well, after today… And after Haloween… I mean, you risked your life to stop Voldemort. That's… That's heroic."

Draco felt heat creeping up his face. "I'm not heroic!" he exclaimed, like he had been deeply offended.

"Then why did you-"

"I have my reasons! And they are very selfish, I assure you."

He was flustered when he saw Luke grinning. "Aww. Such a humble young hero. Just the fact that you feel like you have to assure me means you're lying."

Draco looked even more angered by this than when he had been called a jerk.

"Calm down, buddy," laughed Luke. "That was a compliment." Then he got a bit more serious. "Look. I'm just saying that I don't want us to be like this anymore."

"Like what?"

"You know. Not speaking to each other. I want to be your friend again."

"But you didn't before, did you? You were just pretending you liked me."

"No, not really. I mean, I didn't like the way you treated Granger and the other Muggle-borns. But still, it's not like I'm a saint or something. And I actually… enjoyed your company. You know. When you weren't using that word."

"You mean _Mudblood_?"

Luke arched an eyebrow. "Why are you trying so hard to be unpleasant?" He didn't sound indignant. More like amused.

"It's the way I am. Can't help it," sneered Draco.

"If you say so," said Luke grinning, like he didn't believe a word. "So? Are we friends again?"

Draco grunted. "Well, I suppose I don't have a choice if I want you to teach me how to fight with a sword."

Luke's grin got wider. "I missed you, too, buddy."

* * *

When they got out of the Room of Requirement, Draco froze.

"What?" asked Luke.

"The girl!" he said, pointing somewhere at the other side of the hallway.

Luke frowned. "What girl?"

Draco looked at him in disbelief before he pointed at the same spot again. "That girl right there, the one with the red h-" He stopped abruptly, as he saw that the girl wasn't there anymore. "She's gone."

The blond boy looked concerned. "It's okay. I understand, you've had a stressful day-"

"I'm not imagining things!" persisted Draco. "She was right there! I saw her!"

"Alright. I believe you. Now let's get going."

Luke started walking, but stopped when he realized that his friend wasn't following him. "What is it?"

The black-haired boy sighed. "I don't know. I'm not so sure about this."

"It was your idea!"

"I know… But still, I feel like this isn't entirely safe. What if someone else knows about this room as well? What if they find the stone?"

"You mean _the girl_?" said Luke, exasperated.

Draco glared at him. "Not only her. Others could know about it, too."

"Well, what else can we do? Bring Fluffy here to guard it?"

"Yeah, having a huge three-headed dog positioned in this corridor won't attract any attention at all," sneered Draco.

"How about Morty?"

"Sure, there's just no way they will tie this whole thing to me if my dog is just hanging out here."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Draco bit his lip. "Maybe."

Luke cocked an eyebrow. "Okay. Go ahead."

"Alright," said Draco. His brow creased in concentration. "Baron?" he called quietly.

The two boys waited for a few moments. Nothing happened.

"Awkward," said Luke.

Draco opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment they saw a pearly white head popping through the floor in front of them. A body and legs followed the head. In seconds, the Bloody Baron was floating in front of them.

"My king," said the ghost in a reverent tone. "You've asked of me?"

"Yes," said Draco smiling. "When we first met, you said that you'd be at my service if I required anything."

"I did, and I meant it."

"Well, there's something I want you to do for me."

"Anything, my king."

"I need you to guard this corridor. I want to know if anyone attempts to get inside the hidden room here. Can you do this for me?"

The Baron straightened. "Of course, my king."

"But you'll have to remain unseen. If they see you standing here all day long, they'll start suspecting."

"Don't worry, my king. No one will know I'm here."

Draco smiled at the ghost. "Thank you."

The Bloody Baron nodded curtly and then he glided towards the tapestry opposite the entrance to the Room of Requirement. When he touched the tapestry, he vanished from their eyes. But Draco felt he was still there.

"That was smart," said Luke.

Draco grinned and pressed the button on his watch. "Let's go to our common room."

"Good idea," agreed Luke, also grinning. "Potter's broom malfunctions and then both of us disappear? Before you know it, they'll start believing we cursed him."

* * *

The woman in the red dress approached the chasm.

"It turns out I was right," she said. "The son of Hermes went to England to watch over a child of the Big Three."

"Really?" answered a voice from the depths of the pit. It was deep and so cold that it felt like it could turn your blood to ice. "And what is the child like? Do you think he will join us on his own free will?"

"It looks like he's trying the role of the hero at the moment." She smiled wickedly. "But leave it to me, my lord. I can guide him correctly."

A cold laugh came from the chasm. "I know you can. I suspect you have a plan?"

"Of course, my lord. And believe me, you'll love it. I know how much you like a good deception." The smile on her face grew wider. "And you know how much I love chaos."

"Is that your plan?" asked the voice, slightly amused. "To break chaos?"

Her eyes sparked. "Oh, yes. The likes of which the world has never seen. All we need is a few well selected allies."

"What kind of allies?"

"I was thinking about a certain mortal. A wizard named Voldemort."

* * *

Draco woke with a start.

He was breathing heavily and he was drenched in sweat. He had had a weird dream. He tried to remember the details, but they were already fading.

He could only remember an evil voice coming from the depths of a seemingly bottomless pit. And that it had something to do with Voldemort.

* * *

A/N:

So… Villain team-up. This is going to be fun ;)

About Luke's power to unlock doors… If I remember correctly, there are many ways the half-bloods use their powers in the books. I chose the use of a Greek word in this instance because I wanted to make sure that everyone understood that it's a power he inherited from Hermes and that he isn't some kind of wizard prodigy that can use wandless magic at the age of eleven.

Unfortunately, exams have started, so I might not be able to update as often. I'm not giving up on the story though! I have lots of stuff planned and I'm actually pretty excited about this.

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to review!


	7. Occlumency

Chapter 7: Occlumency

It turned out Luke's worries weren't unfounded. Now the whole Slytherin House thought Draco and Luke were the ones behind the troll _and_ Potter's cursed broom. Everybody feared them. No one dared irritate them. Some were even murmuring that they would become the next Dark Lords.

The boys weren't at all annoyed by the accusations. They even encouraged the rumors – of course without actually admitting to anything. They were having too much fun with everyone in their house more than willing to write their homework and do anything they could to please them.

But they had other problems now. They had to find a way to reveal Quirell's secret. And they had to do that in a way so that no one would be able to tie it to them.

The opportunity presented itself two days after they stole the Philosopher's Stone, when Luke was approached by Harry, Ron and Hermione. Apparently, they wanted to figure out what Quirell was up to and why he wanted Harry dead.

Luke tried to look like he didn't want to get involved in this whole thing. But he did make sure to make some offhanded comment about how weird Quirell's turban was. From the spark in Hermione's eyes, he knew she got the bait.

Five days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione set their plan in motion. Apparently, they had asked the Weasley twins to help them with it. In any case, it worked like a charm.

By the time dinner was served that day, everybody had heard about it. How a prank by the twins – who had managed to sneak into Quirell's office and put some kind of itch-powder in his turban – led to the revelation that Quirell was in fact the host of none other than Lord Voldemort. How Quirell had taken off his turban inside the staff room in a futile attempt to soothe the maddening itch while all the teachers were there. How the professors managed to apprehend him with a cascade of curses – at which point Voldemort abandoned the body of his host and left him for dead.

Fred and George Weasley were declared heroes. Of course, they made sure to mention that this had all been Harry, Ron and Hermione's idea. Dumledore gave them fifty points each.

Draco and Luke, of course, didn't get any recognition at all for their contribution in Quirell's defeat, but they didn't care. Luke was just glad that his friend was starting to become the hero he was meant to be. As for Draco, the most important thing was that _he_ knew what he had accomplished. Now, every time that he was told that he was useless and a poor excuse for an heir of the Malfoys, he'd smile, knowing that no Malfoy had outsmarted a Dark Lord before – and definitely not at the age of eleven.

In the meantime, they started practicing sword-fighting at the Room of Requirement. The room provided them with shields, steel swords and other stuff they might need.

Draco was getting better and better. However, he felt that, even with practice, he might never become as good as Luke. Still, Luke seemed really pleased with him. Especially with the way he was using his watch at the right moments to avoid getting stabbed. Draco had asked if that was cheating. Luke answered that, when you're fighting for your life, there are no rules. You use any resource you have. Being good at wielding a sword and having good reflexes can only get you so far. Being resourceful and able to use everything you have to your advantage is what can make a difference in the end.

When December came, Draco got a message from professor Snape to meet him in his office.

"You asked for me, sir?" said Draco when he got there.

"Yes. If you remember, I promised you I'd be teaching you Occlumency."

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Draco lied. He had completely forgotten about that. The whole thing with Quirell and the Philosopher's Stone drove everything else out of his mind.

"If you still want me to teach you, we can start now."

"Now? Like _right now_?"

Snape nodded.

"Alright. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, the first and most important step is to clear your mind from any thought – especially stuff you wouldn't want others to know about. I think this shall come easy to you."

"What makes you think that, sir?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Because I've seen you do it. For a boy your age, you have a very disciplined and controlled mind. This will come very handy during our lessons. But, of course, you can get even better if you practice some very helpful exercises."

The next couple of hours Snape showed him some of these exercises that could help clear his mind and solidify his defenses. They were very difficult, but Snape said he was doing pretty good.

He left Snape's office with a throbbing headache. Still, he was quite pleased with himself. He had understood by now just how important it was for him to master this art. When you're living with a Death Eater, keeping secrets is a matter of life and death. Especially when you have thwarted the Dark Lord's plans.

* * *

Luke cut through the Iris message with a slash of his sword.

He was sitting in the Room of Requirement, right in front of a fountain that caught the rays of the setting sun that passed through the windows just right, creating multiple rainbows.

Luke was still seething after his talk with Chiron.

 _No, really, it's no big deal_ , he thought with a sneer. _I'll just continue lying to my best friend about his whole bloody existence. He'll definitely understand._

After some thought, he shrugged. It's not like he hadn't disobeyed orders before. He'd just tell everything to Draco and then blatantly lie to Chiron.

"Bad idea," he heard a voice behind him.

Luke jumped and whirled around.

"D-Dad?" he stammered, dumbfounded.

Hermes was wearing his work clothes and carrying his worn brown mailbag. He was holding his caduceus in his right hand, the two green snakes coiled around it and hissing a greeting at Luke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his father.

"Stopping you from doing something stupid."

Luke held his ground. "It's not stupid. Draco has a right to know."

"And you will tell him in time."

"When? On his fourteenth birthday? I'll just go: 'Hey, pal, happy birthday! Oh, guess what! You'll be making some great act of hubris the following hours that could bring the end of the world!' That should be an unforgettable birthday!"

Hermes rolled his eyes. "You won't wait _that_ long… probably."

"That's reassuring."

"Just wait until we're sure that he is… you know. A hero that could actually _save_ the world instead of condemning it."

"He just stopped one of the darkest wizards to ever walk this earth from coming back!"

"And how do you know that he didn't have selfish motives?"

"He didn't!"

"How do you know?"

"I just do! He's my friend!"

"Exactly! Your friend! And what did the Great Prophecy say? _**The thief's soul a friend's blade shall reap.**_ "

"That could mean a number of things!"

"Oh, yeah, reaping souls can have a million meanings."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not the only thief in the world!"

"You're the only one important enough to be mentioned in the Great Prophecy. And _he_ is your only friend."

It pained him to admit it, but it was true. Everybody at camp was really nice to him, especially his siblings, but for five years he was the youngest half-blood there. They were all treating him like their little brother, not like their friend. And, even though he spent quite a lot of time with Harry, Ron and Hermione, it wasn't the same. He hadn't faced trolls and sword-wielding chessmen with them. He hadn't practiced sword-fighting with them.

"And it's not just that line," his father went on. "Remember the prophecy you got for this quest? _**A cunning ploy shall seal your fate.**_ That's what it said."

"It doesn't say that he'll be the one to make this ploy!"

"But it does say that it will be he who'll realize this when it's too late!"

Luke ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "Dad, you know that trying to figure out what the Oracle means every time it makes a prophecy is just a waste of time. Nobody ever got it right. Besides, it's not like you can escape or fool fate."

Hermes sighed. "I'm just saying - wait a little while longer. Just… to be sure."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but the pained expression on his father's face caused the words to get stuck in his throat.

 _Listen to him, dear,_ said Martha, flicking her tongue.

He sighed. "Alright. I won't tell him yet."

Hermes smiled at him. "Just for a little while."

Luke nodded, though his heart wasn't in it. "He'll hate me. _Again_."

His father put his hand on his shoulder, as the two snakes hissed sympathetically. "He'll understand. I promise."

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready?" asked Professor Snape.

Draco swallowed hard. This was risky. He knew it. He had too much to hide. But just doing simple exercises could only get him so far. He needed to see if he could do it in action – under _actual_ attack.

He drew a deep breath. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure you have perfected the Disarming Charm?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Draw your wand."

Draco did what he was told. Snape raised his wand as well and pointed it at him. _"Legilimens."_

Snape's office disappeared. Different images started flashing through his mind, which he recognized too late as his own memories.

He saw various scenes from his childhood. He saw himself in his mother's arms when he broke his arm after falling down the stairs. He saw Dobby making things float around in his room to entertain him after his father humiliated him for his fear of heights and drove him to tears.

And then another memory popped up – one that happened a little before he came to Hogwarts. His mother, crying at the shoulder of a stranger in a black suit.

"I just don't want him getting mixed up in this," she was saying between sobs.

"I know," said the man softly. "But no one can change their destiny. Not even the gods. Believe me, I've tried. We can only prepare him for what's to come."

"I- I know. I-" She took a deep breath and faced the man. "Okay. I'll contact Chiron."

"He'll be alright. He'll become a great hero and make us both so proud." He put his hand in his pocket and took out two items – a watch and a ring. "Give him these. They'll help him. And I'll have Morty sent to you before he leaves for school." He caressed her cheek. "Goodbye, Cissy."

 _I wasn't supposed to see that_ , thought Draco mortified and suddenly his defenses worked up. Slowly, he forced the memory down, focusing on one of his Occlumency exercises.

 _One plus one equals two_ , he thought with force as his mother and the strange man started to dissolve. _Two plus two equals four. Four plus four…_

The image disappeared completely and now he could see Snape. _"Expelliarmus!"_ he yelled and the professor's wand flew out of his hand.

"Good," said the man, not showing any indication that he saw that last scene.

"Good? But you saw-"

"I didn't really expect you to keep me out of your mind completely on your first try. What you did was quite impressive."

"Can I try again?"

The Potions Master hesitated. "Are you sure you can take it? Too many successive attacks on one's brain can dull your defenses if you aren't experienced enough."

"Just once more? This is our last lesson before the Christmas holidays. I want to get it right."

Snape sighed. "As you wish. But don't get too disappointed if you don't do it perfectly."

Draco nodded and raised his wand, trying to clear his head. It wasn't easy. The Occlumency exercises and the last attack on his brain had caused him a dull headache which clouded his thoughts.

 _Focus_ , he implored his mind.

" _Legilimens."_

A new set of images started flashing in front of him. A prank he played on his father, which got him grounded for a month. A failed _Wingardium Leviosa_ from Luke in Charms that somehow managed to set his feather on fire. A game of chess with Zabini in the Slytherin common room, which was followed by different game of chess…

 _No!_ he thought frantically.

 _Eight plus eight equals sixteen! Sixteen plus sixteen equals thirty-two!_

The image of Luke stabbing the black king with his sword blurred a little, but Draco's mind was too exhausted to block the professor out completely. So, he was surprised when he felt Snape withdraw from his brain.

Draco realized he was on the floor. His backside was hurting from the fall – almost as much as his head. He looked up at the professor with dread.

The Potions Master was staring at him with a stony expression.

"What was that?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Draco gulped. He wouldn't have sounded so ominous even if he had yelled at him.

"Which one?"

"The last one. The one with the big chessmen."

Draco opened his mouth, wanting to lie, but Snape's eyes were locked on his. He couldn't lie. The professor would know.

"When did you go to the forbidden corridor?" asked Snape with narrowed eyes.

"I- I didn't-" Draco's words abandoned him. This was a disaster.

"No, you're right. The right question is – why?"

"I just- I just wanted-"

"Just tell me the truth," said Snape, quietly but firmly. "I don't want to use Legilimency on you, but I will if you don't. This is a matter of the school's safety."

"I- I stole it!" blurted Draco.

The Potions Master froze. "You… stole it?"

Draco lowered his head. "I only meant to keep it safe. From- From Voldemort."

He waited for the professor to say something. When no reply came, he slowly raised his head. Snape was gaping at him, completely gobsmacked.

"Why?" he managed to utter.

"Because Dobby told me about it!" said Draco, looking a little panicky. "About the war! And- And I don't want it to happen again!"

Snape continued to stare at him, like he was trying to decide if he was lying. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Where is it now?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Draco-" started the professor sternly.

"It's safe! That's all you need to know!"

"Draco, I can-"

"Draw the information right from my mind? Yes, you can. But I'm asking you not to. Just trust me on this. It's safe."

Snape stared at him once more. Draco expected him to berate him, but the professor just sighed.

"That was a very dangerous and foolish thing you did. You know that, don't you? You could have been killed."

Draco nodded.

Snape sighed again. "Alright. I will trust you on this. But next time you want to try something foolish, you will come to _me_ first. I might be able to help you and keep you from getting killed."

"Okay," said Draco quickly. "Are you- Are you going to tell anyone?"

"No," said the man. "For your own safety, I'll keep this between us."

His knees almost buckled under him from the relief that flooded through him. "Not even Dumbledore?"

Snape paused. "No," he said finally. "Not even Dumbledore."

Draco gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, sir."

"I'm putting a lot of faith in you, Draco," said the man, his eyes boring into him. "You'd better not let me down. Believe me, you don't want to see me angry."

The boy gulped. "I'll remember that."

* * *

"Who's there?"

Lucius Malfoy was alone in his office. Or so he thought, because a second ago he heard something like light footsteps from behind a bookcase.

His heart jumped to his throat as he saw a figure appear and walk slowly towards him. A woman.

This wasn't possible. No one should be able to pass through the advanced anti-apparition wards around Malfoy Manor.

He jumped upright and drew his wand, but the woman just waved her hand and it flew away from him.

Lucius paled. Wandless magic. Whoever this woman was, she was very powerful.

He could actually _feel_ her power – all the way across the room. It was buzzing in the air like electricity.

"Don't be afraid, Lucius," said the mysterious woman with a sly smile on her blood-red lips. "I'm not here to harm you."

"Who are you?"

"Just a friend of a friend."

"Tell me who you are, or-"

The woman's eyes flared dangerously as she took a few more steps towards him. "Or what, Lucius? You're wandless – defenseless. And a _mortal_."

 _Mortal_.

Lucius didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you want from me?"

She flashed that crooked smile again. She had reached him now. She touched his shoulder and suddenly his office disappeared.

They were standing in a different room. It was brightly lit and very luxurious – almost as much as Malfoy Manor. The floor swayed a little under their feet. Through the big window he could see the green-blue sea stretching out to the horizon.

They were on a ship.

And they weren't alone.

His eyes fell on a plush green armchair. At first he had thought that there was some kind of ugly doll on it. Then he realized that the thing was alive.

It was like a really ugly skinny baby – like something from a nightmare. But the face – that snake-like face – was familiar…

"M- My lord?" he stammered.

Voldemort's mouth stretched into a hideous smile.

"Lucius," he said in a deceivingly calm voice. "So nice of you to join us."

"My lord- You're alive! I can't believe-"

The creature's red eyes narrowed and pointed its wand to Lucius. _"Crucio!"_

Lucius fell on the floor, screaming and thrashing violently. After two full minutes, the pain stopped. Lucius remained on the floor, shaking.

"Stand up, Lucius," said Voldemort's cold voice.

Lucius tried to prop himself up on his hands but they gave away and he fell down again. The woman scoffed and looked at him in utter contempt. She waved a finger and Lucius was propped up on his feet, still shaking.

"M- My lord… F- Forgive me…"

"You have disappointed me, Lucius. I had thought that, after what happened with the Potter child, my loyal Death Eaters would look for me. That didn't happen."

"M- My lord, if there had been any sign that you were alive-"

" _Silence,"_ hissed Voldemort. "I didn't have you brought here to listen to your excuses. I brought you here so that you can show me that you are still of some use."

"Of- Of course, my lord! I'll do anything! I have many connections that could prove useful to you-"

"I don't need your connections."

"Well, perhaps one," smirked the woman.

"Who?" asked Lucius, worried. The look on the woman's face suggested someone as important as the Minister, maybe more.

"Your son, of course," she said and the grin on her red lips widened.

"Draco?" said Lucius incredulously. "What would you want with him? He's completely useless-"

The woman laughed. "Useless? The boy is only eleven and he has already outsmarted your master once!"

Voldemort shot a venomous look at her but didn't dare say anything. Lucius gulped. If the Dark Lord was afraid of her, she must be incredibly powerful. But he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Draco? Are you sure?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "I saw it with my own eyes. For a mortal kid, the boy has great potential."

Lucius still wasn't convinced, but he didn't dare question her again.

"And what do you need me to do?"

She smiled slyly. "Your Master has entrusted you with a certain object. Do you still have it?"

Lucius nodded.

"Good. My plan would be worthless without it."

"What plan?"

He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. But the woman didn't seem to mind his indiscretion this time.

"My plan for world domination, of course." Her grin broadened. "With this object, we will plunge the world into chaos. And then we will bring a new world order. One ruled by us."

The smile disappeared, her eyes now hungry. Lucius could practically taste her anticipation. "We've been in the sidelines for too long. It's our time to shine."

* * *

A/N:

I managed to find a little time in between my exams, so I got to write this chapter. The next one might take longer, though.

You might have noticed that the Great Prophecy is different here. I had to change it to fit into the story. Also, even though it's mentioned in this chapter that the Great Prophecy will be fulfilled by the time Draco turns fourteen, I may change that later. I'm still not entirely sure how long this story will be.

You must have also noticed that Snape was a _lot_ more patient with Draco during the Occlumency lessons than he was with Harry in canon. The obvious reason for this is that it's _Draco_ and not _Harry_. Simple as that :)


	8. Secrets

A/N:

I'm so sorry for the long wait. I've had exams and this chapter has been the hardest to write this far (god, I hate filler chapters). I've rewritten it about three times and the truth is that I'm still not satisfied with it. But I don't know how to make it better and I really want to move the story forward, so I'm posting it as it is.

* * *

Chapter 8: Secrets

Luke slid a compartment door open. When he saw Draco seated there, with Morty's head resting on his lap, the tension in his shoulders eased a little.

"There you are," he said. "I must have looked through the entire train to find you."

After he put his trunk on the luggage rack, he sank down next to his friend and patted Morty's head. The dog licked his hand. It seemed like Luke had started to grow on him.

"So," said Draco, looking outside at the crowded platform. It was a dull, cloudy day. "How did you pass the holidays?"

Luke exhaled and rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Fantastic."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "That bad?"

Luke sighed. "Remember when I told you I'd go stay with my mother for Christmas?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I only stayed for four days. Then grandma sent me to camp."

"Why?"

"Because- Because, _somehow_ , mom's getting worse. You know, most of the time, she's extremely unable to focus on anything. She's there, but she's not there, not really. It drives me crazy but it can be almost bearable then. We just have to be really patient with her. But from time to time, she has these… these _fits_. And I just-" He buried his face in his hands. "I just can't handle those. They're- They're scary. And now when I visited… She got those fits _all_ the time. And- And I just couldn't take it."

Draco didn't say anything. What could he say? He was considering putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, but at that moment Luke straightened again and shook his head.

"Enough about that," he said. "How was _your_ Christmas?"

Draco snorted. "Brilliant."

"That bad, huh? Was your father driving you crazy?"

"No. That's the problem."

Luke frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He was… _unusually_ civil the whole time. Asking me how I was, how was school… It was… _unsettling_."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Can't you just enjoy a good thing without nitpicking?"

"I'm not nitpicking! Luke, this is serious!"

"It's serious that your father is being nice to you?"

"Yes! And it's not just that."

Luke sat back, looking at his friend with concern. "What happened?"

Draco sighed and scratched Morty's head absently. "Dobby came to speak with me one day."

"Dobby?"

"One of our house-elves. He's very loyal to me now – ever since we took care of Voldemort. And he told me that my father has been meeting with some woman lately."

Luke frowned. "Okay, I understand why that would make you… upset, but-"

" _Upset?_ Luke, I'm terrified!"

Luke froze. Draco sounded really panicky.

"Look, um…" He tried to find the words. "I get it, it's not exactly pleasant to find out that your father is seeing other women…"

"What?" Now Draco's cheeks were red. "No, I didn't mean- Luke, they're plotting together! They're planning something big!"

"What makes you think so?"

"Dobby overheard them once. He didn't catch much. But what he heard was enough."

He turned his body in his seat so that he was facing Draco directly. "And?"

Draco drew a deep breath. "Father's working for Voldemort again."

There were a few moments of stunned silence.

"Oh," said Luke. " _Oh._ That's- Yeah, that's bad."

"Bad?" Draco shook his head. "This is beyond bad. This is a _disaster_. If my father finds out what we did-" He swallowed. "Before – he would disown me for bringing shame to the family name with those… _heroics_. But now… _Now_ he'll kill me."

Luke's eyes widened. "You- You don't know that."

"But I do." Draco's voice broke a little. He clenched his jaw and turned to look back outside as the Hogwarts Express started moving. "Voldemort would make him do it."

Luke didn't know what to say. How to help his friend. This was a really bad situation.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked eventually.

Draco shrugged, his eyes still focused on the window and the scenery that changed quickly outside as the train moved through the countryside. "The smart thing would be to hand over the Philosopher's Stone to my father to give it to Voldemort. Then _maybe_ he would spare me."

Luke felt his stomach twist. "Will you?"

"I should," said Draco in a harsh whisper. He turned to look at Luke. The two boys stared at each other for a few moments. Then Draco sighed. "But I won't."

Luke sighed as well, a wave of relief washing over him. "I know it isn't easy…"

Draco huffed. "That's an understatement." He sighed again. "But the alternative isn't easy, either."

Luke raised a questioning eyebrow.

Another sigh. "Dobby overheard something else, as well."

"What?"

He hesitated for a few seconds. "Your name."

Luke frowned. "My name? What do _I_ have to do with their plotting?"

"I don't know. But whatever they are planning, we have to stop it."

Luke looked at his friend with wonder. "Are you sure?"

Draco's gaze was steady and unwavering. "Yes."

The corners of Luke's lips curled upwards, forming a grin. "How very heroic of you."

Draco rolled his eyes. But his lips were twitching as well, like he was trying to suppress a grin of his own. Morty barked once. Draco rolled his eyes again. "Morty, I'm pretty sure it's not possible to _eat_ Voldemort," he said, exasperated.

The dog made an annoyed sound.

"Well, actually it's not a bad idea," said Luke thoughtfully.

Draco looked at him like he was concerned for his mental state. "Luke, not even Dumbledore could defeat Voldemort. You think a dog can?"

"Technically, Morty's a hellhound." Draco cocked an eyebrow. "And I'm not saying he can defeat Voldemort. But an extra precaution couldn't hurt. You _are_ in danger. And, even if you are kind of good with a sword…" Another cocked eyebrow. "You're still a first year. Having Morty around to protect you if something goes wrong is a sensible thing to do."

Draco frowned. "Since when are _you_ thinking about sensible things?"

He shrugged. "Since we went up against Voldemort."

Draco seemed to think about it. Then he shook his head. "No. Not buying it."

Luke rolled his eyes. But he smiled all the same. The tension he felt during the holidays seemed to ease a little. Even with the new problems added to the ever-growing pile of things he needed to worry about, it was still good to bicker with his friend. His _only_ friend. The friend he was bound to lose because of all the secrets.

"How's your mother?" he asked Draco.

His friend frowned. "Fine, I guess."

Luke arched an eyebrow. "But?"

Draco sighed. "But she's been acting a little weird. Every time she looked at me, I _swear_ I could see her tear up. And she would say stuff like how much I have grown, and how she wanted me to stay her little boy forever, and how proud she is of me."

"Maybe she just missed you."

Draco bit his lip. "Do you think maybe she knows?"

Luke shifted uncomfortably. "About what?"

"About what we did."

"How could she know?" he asked, but wouldn't meet Draco's eyes.

"I don't know… Maybe Snape told her?"

"Didn't you say that he promised not to tell anyone?"

"Well, maybe he decided that she had a right to know that her son is putting himself in mortal danger."

"Maybe…" was all Luke said.

Of course Mrs. Malfoy knew everything about their shenanigans. When she reached out to Chiron in August to tell him about Draco's existence and to ask him to send someone to watch over her son while he was at school, she insisted that she would be kept informed about everything. So everything Luke reported to Chiron in their Iris messages, Chiron would forward it to her.

But of course he couldn't say that to Draco. Just another secret added to the pile.

Luke hated all the secrecy. He hated having to look Draco in the eye and lie to him. It was eating him up inside… So much that he might actually put to use the gift Mrs. Malfoy sent him for Christmas to thank him for protecting her son. Which, of course, he couldn't tell Draco about, either. _Typical._

They passed the rest of the train ride in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Luke was thinking about his mother. He couldn't take her wild green eyes and her ominous words out of his mind. All those things she would yell about gifts and snakes and lightning bolts scared the life out of him.

He remembered the first day of the Christmas holidays. After witnessing one of the worst fits he had ever seen his mother have, he had locked himself in his room, crying like a baby.

It was weird, but for some reason he had been expecting that things would be better at home now. It was crazy, but after these past few months he was getting hopeful again that maybe his luck would turn and that things would work out alright. But that's not the way life works. Just because he helped thwart the plans of a dark wizard, it didn't mean that he was automatically entitled to good luck. Maybe the opposite. In all the stories he had heard, the heroes seemed to have the worst luck. It made you wonder what was the point in being a hero…

A knock on the door had snapped him out of his thoughts. It was his grandma. When she entered and saw his puffy and tear-stained face, she had sighed and enclosed him in her warm embrace.

"She'll never get better, will she?" Luke had asked her.

She sighed again. Her baggy eyes looked really tired. "No, she won't. I had tried to warn her… She didn't listen to me. She thought it was her destiny."

"Is it wrong to want something more?"

"I don't know if it's wrong. What I know is that it's pointless. You can't escape fate, Luke. If it's your destiny, you shall have it. It's no use fussing about it."

"But how do we know what our destiny is? How would she know that she wasn't supposed to be the Oracle?"

She had looked at him and her piercing gaze showed that she understood that they weren't really talking about his mother anymore. She ruffled his hair. "Are you dreaming about a great destiny, too, Luke?"

He sighed. "I _am_ dreaming about it. But I know I shouldn't pursue it."

She smiled at him and Luke could see her relief. "Good. I don't need another member of my family losing their minds."

"Not funny," said Luke raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

Then she stood up again. "Do you want me to bring you anything to eat?"

He bit his lip. "Some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be nice."

She had rolled her eyes. "Again? That's all you've eaten since you got here!"

"You know I like them. Besides," he had added, looking a little embarrassed. "You know how happy it makes her when I eat her sandwiches."

Her face softened. "Do you want some burned cookies, too?"

His face had broken into a grin. "You know I do."

Draco was also thinking about his mother. He thought of the day he arrived at his house for the holidays.

He remembered letting his trunk fall on the floor in his room. He'd sat on his bed, shaking his head in bemusement.

He hadn't expected his father to pick him up from King's Cross. And he definitely hadn't expect him to be so… _civil_. He'd caught a few murderous glances sometimes directed at him, but the moment his father realized that Draco was looking at him, he quickly changed his expression to a more approachable one.

That was… unsettling. Simply unnerving.

There had been a soft knock on the door.

"Yes?"

His mother was standing in the doorway, beaming at him. Without hesitating for a second, Draco had stood and run to her embrace. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I missed you," she had said quietly.

"I missed you, too."

They separated and his mother examined him from head to toe. "You've grown even more!" she had said, incredulously. "You're at least an inch taller than the last time I saw you."

"An inch isn't that much," Draco whined.

"It is a lot for a mother who wants her son to stay her little boy for ever."

Draco rolled his eyes.

She sat on the small couch in his room and motioned him to sit next to her.

"Now tell me everything."

He had felt his throat go dry. He'd thought about telling her everything, about Quirell and Voldemort and the Philosopher's Stone. But then he wondered if by telling her he would put her in danger.

 _I can't let that happen,_ he decided.

So he told her about Hogwarts, the lessons, the teachers, the students and pretty much everything else. He didn't say a word though about his little adventure.

He was sure she knew he was hiding something. The mere fact that he hadn't talked about Quirell at all – even though everyone knew he had been Voldemort's host and that he had been apprehended inside Hogwarts – should have been enough to make her suspicious. But thankfully she didn't say anything.

But she did look at him with a sad look on her face. "I meant what I said before," she had said quietly. "I will always wish you could stay my little boy forever."

Draco had swallowed. That memory that Snape had drawn to the surface during their Occlumency lessons had come to his mind. He had tried not to think about it the previous months – mainly because he _really_ shouldn't have been eavesdropping – but now it kept nagging him.

" _I just don't want him getting mixed up in this,"_ she had uttered between sobs to that mysterious man, and it sounded a lot like what she had just said.

So he answered in a similar way to the man. "Well, you can't change that, mum. Just make the most of it."

She had blinked in surprise. "That was awfully insightful of you," she said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes. "I mean it, mum. Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine."

Her smiled turned a little melancholy. "I know, Draco. I know that you'll make me proud."

He nodded, but he didn't answer, because then he remembered that the man had said something similar.

" _He'll be alright. He'll become a great hero and make us both so proud."_

And now, as the train crossed the countryside that was barely visible in the twilight, Draco wondered. Who was that man? Why had his mother hugged him? And why did he care about his well-being?

He remembered the conversation he just had with Luke, about that mystery woman that his father was meeting. Luke had thought that he was _seeing_ her. Was that what his mother and the man were doing? Were they having an affair?

Draco decided he really didn't want to know.

He sighed. It seemed like his mother wasn't the only one who was keeping secrets from him.

He knew Luke was hiding something. At first he didn't mind. He just thought it had something to do with his family and that it was sensitive. It was a reasonable conclusion, considering his mother's condition and his father's absence. He figured he just needed time before he could talk about it with someone. But now Draco was certain that it had something to do with him as well, because he could barely look at him in the eye most days at this point.

Draco wanted to sit him down and inquire what was the matter. But he didn't want to have to force the truth out of him. They were friends, weren't they? Luke should be able to trust him enough to tell him on his own.

So he decided that he was going to wait and see how long he would keep secrets from him. And then he would know exactly how much Luke valued their friendship.

* * *

Two months later and Luke still hadn't told Draco what he was hiding and it started to affect their friendship. Every conversation between them was strained and careful. Draco was starting to get really pissed at him, so he started spending more and more time with Nott and Zabini, so that he wouldn't get tempted to throttle Luke. And Luke, who also didn't enjoy lying to his best friend, started hanging out a lot with Harry, Ron and Hermione again. Also, ever since the Christmas holidays, Draco had started to get from Luke that same feeling of _wrongness_ he got whenever he was close to Potter. It made him really nervous.

They were still practicing sword-fighting in the Room of Requirement, of course, and they were still trying to figure out what Draco's father and that woman were up to. The fact that they still hadn't made any progress didn't do much to improve Draco's mood. Dobby would pop in every now and then to give them updates, but there wasn't anything of importance to report. It made Draco restless the fact that he could be in danger and he didn't even know about what he should be afraid of.

At least Morty's presence was a little comforting. Like Luke suggested, Morty now went everywhere Draco was going, making sure he was safe. Of course, he wasn't allowed in class, but the dog always waited for his boss right outside the door, ready to act if Draco called for him. After Quirell, not even the classroom seemed safe to Draco. At least he didn't have to worry about a new DADA professor at the moment, as Snape was currently filling in on that position until Dumbledore found a replacement.

Taking all of this into account, it wasn't a wonder Draco was so grumpy at dinner that Thursday in the beginning of March. His bad mood had probably been the reason Luke had decided to go to bed early.

Draco finally gave up on his dinner. He didn't feel hungry at all. He stood from the Slytherin table and started walking towards the dungeons with Morty on his tail. He stopped however when he rounded a corner and saw Potter and his sidekicks standing at the middle of the corridor where the staircase that led to the dungeons was.

"What are you boneheads doing-"

He froze. As the three of them turned around and looked at him with eyes wide with horror, he caught sight of the wall behind them. Words were written on it with blood-red paint. He walked towards the Golden Trio with long strides, pushing them aside to look at the wall properly. His blood turned to ice in his veins as the words started to register.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE

 _Bloody hell._

This was bad. This was really bad.

And then he noticed the motionless figure on the floor, right in front of the wall. It was Mrs. Norris, Filch's meddlesome cat. And she was dead.

* * *

A/N:

Yeah, I'm definitely not satisfied with this chapter. And it was shorter than usual. Ugh.

Anyway, I'd like to know what you thought of it, even if you hated it. I promise the next chapter will be better (and a lot more interesting, now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened!).


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